Do you look forward to vacations only to find what you have “vacated” from and dread returning to is the misery of life? If so, it might mean that true Sabbath keeping is not a practice in your life. Our society struggles with the highest rates of anxiety and depression as the new norm is “I’m too busy/overwhelmed.”
God anticipated our weakness and created the Sabbath for us. Most of us are familiar with this ‘day of rest’ as a means to simply focus on church, right? Wrong! Although church can be a part of the Sabbath, the day is also for connecting, delighting, resting, and joy. Church provides many of these things and is an excellent way to start your Sabbath. Below, we will walk through three main facets of Dan Allender’s perspective from his book, “Sabbath,” which outlines how God created the sabbath for rest, celebration, and delight.
The Commandment
First and foremost, keeping the Sabbath is a commandment, not a suggestion. God knew in his design the grave consequences of constant work without celebration. God understands that our need to rest is essential, so much so that refusal is a sin, and essentially communicates (non-verbally) that “his design and laws don’t apply to us/aren’t as important.” He designed one day to be holy, set apart, where we do not work but worship, rest, and delight. Dan Allender says, “The Sabbath has somehow morphed into Sunday, the day of the resurrection, and it is fulfilled by attending a religious event called Sunday morning church service. Once that is finished, the day is spent in routine yard maintenance, diversion, and preparation for the coming week…this is not a Sabbath.”
Sabbath means resting, not working, but what is the definition of work and rest? Work may be your job that earns income, but it also includes stressful tasks that lack pure joy. A good litmus test is to ask yourself, “If I was on vacation for a day, what would I want to do?” Would you want to do yard work? Most likely, no, but would you want to walk around your yard in awe of the subtleties, such as smelling the fragrances and fine details of creation? If yes, we are getting closer to rest.
Feast, Drink, and Song
There is no denying that good food and drink bring people together. A meal symbolizes a time to celebrate, reflect, and engage in conversation. Throughout scripture, “all meals and all joy around a table, are a reminder of the feast of the coming Kingdom.” Therefore, prepare an elaborate meal you are excited for! Just as we excitedly anticipate indulging in our favorite holiday meal, so should we treat our meal on the Sabbath. With a holiday meal comes good wine (or some excellent drink) and cheerful music for dancing. Therefore, find a good playlist or live music event before your Sabbath to enjoy!
Preparation and Communal Joy
God intends the Sabbath to be filled with joy, worship, awe, community, and gratitude that overflows into the week ahead. Before a celebrated vacation, there is inevitably stress surrounding the packing and travel. But, once we have arrived at our desired vacation spot, there is a sense of shalom. We often want to share our vacation with family or friends who will share in our joy. “Delight doesn’t require a journey thousands of miles away to taste the goodness of God’s creation, but it does require a separation from the mundane, an intentional choice to enter joy and follow God as he celebrates the glory of his creation.” Stop the routines that are depleting your joy! Yes, we must fulfill our responsibilities. But on the Sabbath, we are commanded to set these aside for celebration and delight.
Allender poses that simply vacating our responsibilities by ‘not working’ is insufficient and is not the intention of Sabbath rest. He argues that we should be replacing this time intentionally. “Joy requires setting aside work for wonder and worship for worry – in order to see the sweetness of what is rather than the disappointment in what is not.”
Rethinking the Sabbath
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” – Mark 2:27.
When we honor and observe a Sabbath as God intends, we get a glimpse of “re-creating the gardens and re-creating in the new heavens and earth.” We were made for more than the mundane. God calls us to have joy, celebration, and excitement. He has even set aside a day for it! I invite you to consider rethinking your Sabbath so you can enjoy and anticipate this weekly celebration for the rest of your life!
References
- Allender, D. (2009). Sabbath: The ancient practices. Thomas Nelson Publishers, pp. 7-8.
- Allender, D. (2009). Sabbath: The ancient practices. Thomas Nelson Publishers, pg. 79.
- Allender, D. (2009). Sabbath: The ancient practices. Thomas Nelson Publishers, pg. 4.
- Allender, D. (2009). Sabbath: The ancient practices. Thomas Nelson Publishers, pg. 162.
- Allender, D. (2009). Sabbath: The ancient practices. Thomas Nelson Publishers, pg. 14.
Written by: Micah Mabe, MA MFT, APC
Roswell Location
micah@restorationcounselingatl.com, ext. 158
Micah offers services in-person at the Roswell office and virtually and can provide EMDR through an online platform. He enjoys working with individuals, couples, and families in various areas, including emotional dysregulation, anger management, anxiety, depression, life transitions, grief, pornography and sexual struggles, trauma, dissociation, relational disconnection, and more. He uses various approaches to counseling, such as EMDR, Experiential therapy, IFS, Narrative therapy, and EFT, to help clients find understanding, attunement, skills, and healing within themselves and with others.