Struggling with burnout? Discover how God's command to rest can transform your life. In this personal journey, I share how juggling work and ministry nearly broke me—and how embracing the Sabbath restored my soul. Learn biblical wisdom, practical Sabbath tips, and why even Jesus prioritized rest.
I so badly needed to read this. I have been struggling to understand rest and Sabbath, especially since I teach Sunday School. This article put things into perspective for me, and showed me that achieving a sabbath is achievable, even if what I am able to achieve falls short of what scripture prescribes—that the attempt to achieve a sabbath is more important.
Hi Sonia. I'm so glad this article is inspiring you to find your Sabbath. I would encourage you to start small and let it grow. God is more concerned with your heart and less with your time. Of course, the more time you spend with our Heavenly Father, the more you'll want to sit at His feet.
I am trying really hard to reconcile what the Bible says with what I can do. So far, I’ve come up with reading Bible commentaries, Christian writing, and scripture on Sundays in lieu of my normal novels and secular histories. But a lot of me feels very guilty about cooking Sunday dinner for my family and friends because the Old Testament says not to cook!
Hi Sonia, I would suggest that Jewish tradition is not meant for everyone. Many of the practices are good and would benefit us, but in some cases, you can’t adhere to all of the practices of Jewish families. For the Sabbath, the Jewish tradition was to prepare everything the day before. If you’d really like to have a day without doing a lot of work, perhaps the majority of the meal could be prepared ahead of time. You also have to factor in the type of relationship the people had with God prior to the coming of Christ. There were many laws and traditions that they had to follow in order to remain in good standing with God. Today, with the relationship that we now have with God because of Christ, the old ways are not as important as the relationship that we have with our savior. I’m not saying that those traditions are bad, but I am saying that because of Christ, we have the option to pick which traditions we will follow because our relationship with God is not dependent on them.
Is that something similar to not having to make sacrifices of food to God because of Christ’s sacrifice? And is that what is meant when Christ said that the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around? I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question!
Yes, Christ came to fulfill the law. Meaning we don’t have to make sacrifices anymore. Even the priests were angry that Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath. They didn’t understand. Jesus changed our relationship with God when He took our sin and paid the price for our salvation.
I want to thank you for the practical tips on how to Sabbath in this world. I have been feeling this on my heart lately and I am in the process of carving out that time, but with husband, kids, dogs, ministry, life gets a bit filled up. So, thank you. I am going to put my phone down and set myself up for true Shabbat rest.
This is such a needed reminder, brother Christ. We treat rest like it’s optional, but God commands it for a reason—because He knows we run best when we’re not running on fumes. And honestly, if Jesus Himself took time to rest, who are we to think we can outwork the Son of God? 😂
Love the challenge to schedule a Sabbath this week. Time to actually take that nap in Jesus’ name! Looking forward to hearing more from you.
I so badly needed to read this. I have been struggling to understand rest and Sabbath, especially since I teach Sunday School. This article put things into perspective for me, and showed me that achieving a sabbath is achievable, even if what I am able to achieve falls short of what scripture prescribes—that the attempt to achieve a sabbath is more important.
Hi Sonia. I'm so glad this article is inspiring you to find your Sabbath. I would encourage you to start small and let it grow. God is more concerned with your heart and less with your time. Of course, the more time you spend with our Heavenly Father, the more you'll want to sit at His feet.
I am trying really hard to reconcile what the Bible says with what I can do. So far, I’ve come up with reading Bible commentaries, Christian writing, and scripture on Sundays in lieu of my normal novels and secular histories. But a lot of me feels very guilty about cooking Sunday dinner for my family and friends because the Old Testament says not to cook!
Hi Sonia, I would suggest that Jewish tradition is not meant for everyone. Many of the practices are good and would benefit us, but in some cases, you can’t adhere to all of the practices of Jewish families. For the Sabbath, the Jewish tradition was to prepare everything the day before. If you’d really like to have a day without doing a lot of work, perhaps the majority of the meal could be prepared ahead of time. You also have to factor in the type of relationship the people had with God prior to the coming of Christ. There were many laws and traditions that they had to follow in order to remain in good standing with God. Today, with the relationship that we now have with God because of Christ, the old ways are not as important as the relationship that we have with our savior. I’m not saying that those traditions are bad, but I am saying that because of Christ, we have the option to pick which traditions we will follow because our relationship with God is not dependent on them.
Is that something similar to not having to make sacrifices of food to God because of Christ’s sacrifice? And is that what is meant when Christ said that the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around? I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question!
Yes, Christ came to fulfill the law. Meaning we don’t have to make sacrifices anymore. Even the priests were angry that Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath. They didn’t understand. Jesus changed our relationship with God when He took our sin and paid the price for our salvation.
Good to meet you this afternoon, Chris. Looking forward to connecting in the days ahead ....
I want to thank you for the practical tips on how to Sabbath in this world. I have been feeling this on my heart lately and I am in the process of carving out that time, but with husband, kids, dogs, ministry, life gets a bit filled up. So, thank you. I am going to put my phone down and set myself up for true Shabbat rest.
This is such a needed reminder, brother Christ. We treat rest like it’s optional, but God commands it for a reason—because He knows we run best when we’re not running on fumes. And honestly, if Jesus Himself took time to rest, who are we to think we can outwork the Son of God? 😂
Love the challenge to schedule a Sabbath this week. Time to actually take that nap in Jesus’ name! Looking forward to hearing more from you.
"And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27. Soli Deo gloria!!!!!!!