I remember sitting across from a couple in my office years ago when I was an assistant principal. They were new kindergarten parents, eagerly preparing for their child’s first day of school. The father confidently mentioned how their child would adjust to “nap time,” and I had to stop him right there.
“There is no nap time anymore,” I told them.
The look of shock on their faces mirrored my own feelings. When we were kids, teachers recognized our need for rest. They’d turn the lights down after recess, we’d grab our little pads, and for 30 precious minutes, we’d recharge. Now? That time has been sacrificed to accommodate more academic demands.
This conversation got me thinking about something much deeper than kindergarten schedules. Have we forgotten the fundamental importance of rest in our lives? And more importantly, have we forgotten that God Himself established rest as sacred from the very beginning?
Rest Isn’t Just Nice—It’s Necessary
When God completed creation, He didn’t just suggest rest as a good idea for when we’re feeling burned out. He modeled it, blessed it, and sanctified it. Genesis 2:2-3 tells us, “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.”
The Hebrew word for “sanctified” means to set apart, to make holy. God didn’t just take a break—He established a pattern and declared it sacred. That should stop us in our tracks. The Sabbath isn’t just about catching up on sleep or having a day off—it’s about honoring something God Himself declared holy.
I’ve found that when I ignore this rhythm of rest, everything in my life suffers—my relationship with God, my family connections, even my effectiveness in ministry. When I honor it, everything else seems to fall into place.
Rediscovering What Got Lost in Translation
For the Israelites fresh out of Egyptian slavery, God’s command to observe the Sabbath must have seemed radical. After 400 years of forced labor with no breaks, God literally wrote “remember to rest” into stone as one of the Ten Commandments. This wasn’t a suggestion—it was law.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8, 11)
What’s fascinating is that God connects Sabbath-keeping directly to freedom. In Deuteronomy’s retelling of the commandments, He reminds them: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there…” (Deuteronomy 5:15).
The message? Slaves don’t control their time—free people do. When we refuse to rest, we’re living more like slaves than like God’s liberated people.
What Sabbath Rest Actually Looks Like Today
So what does honoring the Sabbath mean for us today? It’s not about legalistic rule-following or checking religious boxes. Jesus made this clear when the religious leaders criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath. His response? “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
The purpose of Sabbath has always been restoration, not restriction. It’s about:
- Pausing productivity to remember that our worth isn’t in what we produce
- Setting aside dedicated time for worship and spiritual renewal
- Enjoying unhurried moments with those we love
- Physically resting our bodies, which honors God’s design
- Practicing trust that God keeps the world spinning without our constant effort
For you, It might mean protecting Sundays as family time, turning off notifications, sharing meals with loved ones, and making space for extended prayer and reflection. It might mean saying no to good things so you can say yes to God things.
Finding Your Way Back to Sacred Rest
If you’re thinking, “This sounds nice, but impossible in my season of life,” I get it. Between work demands, family responsibilities, and the constant ping of technology, carving out a full day can seem unrealistic. But what if we started smaller?
Begin by examining what truly refreshes your soul and connects you with God. For some, it’s nature walks or reading Scripture without an agenda. For others, it’s creative expression or meaningful conversation. The form matters less than the heart behind it.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). This points to both a present reality we can experience now and a future complete rest in Christ. Every time we honor the Sabbath, we’re practicing for eternity and experiencing a foretaste of God’s kingdom.
The beautiful truth is that God refreshes you when you step into His rhythm of rest. It’s not just about taking a break—it’s about breaking the cycle of constant doing to remember who you are: a beloved child of God whose value doesn’t come from productivity.
So this week, consider where you might carve out space for sacred rest. It might not look like a traditional Sabbath day, especially at first. But any step toward honoring God’s pattern of rest is a step toward freedom and flourishing as He intended.
Remember, God didn’t need to rest after creation—but He did, knowing we would need both the example and the permission to pause. The Lord’s Day isn’t just another obligation on your spiritual to-do list. It’s a gift waiting to be unwrapped, offering refreshment for your weary soul in a world that rarely stops to breathe.
Peace,
Todd