Why Sabbath Rest Will Never Disappoint

Other days might disappoint, but a day of Sabbath rest will energize you like nothing else. Discover the ultimate self-care hack!

This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday quick write hosted by Kate Moutang. Join us each Thursday night on Twitter (#FMFParty) for fun and fellowship, then grab a pen and start writing when the prompt goes live!

Do Your To-Do Lists Disappoint You?

“Mrs. Ojeda, why do you always say, ‘Thank you that the Sabbath is coming’ when you pray*?” my student asked me.

“I do?” I asked.

“Yeah, you do,” another student chimed in.

“Maybe because I can’t wait for Sabbath rest and I’m so happy God gave us one day a week when we don’t have to do work.”

“But you’re on weekend duty every three weeks,” the first student pointed out.

“Yeah, but I don’t do any other work on Sabbath—I just supervise at church and for meals and activities.”

“What about when you were in school, did you do homework on the Sabbath?”

“Nope. Never. Even in college.”

“How did you get everything done?”

“I don’t know, I just did.” I shrugged. “The same way I get everything done now, I suppose. God gave us Sabbath rest so we could spend time with him—whether with other people in a church setting or out in nature enjoying his creation.”

“I thought Sabbath rest meant we have to just, you know, sleep all day.”

I laughed. “No, it simply means we step away from our normal life and put our focus on hanging out with God instead of our to-do lists, video games, social media, books, homework, and all those other things that want our attention.”

The Beauty of Sabbath Rest

The older I get, the more I appreciate the gift of Sabbath rest. One day each week set aside where I don’t have to do the usual and can forget about projects, deadlines, grading papers, or keeping up. I start the night before and revel in letting go. Often, I’ll go to bed a little earlier and wake up a little later.

Sometimes, I go to church to worship with other believers. Other times, I go on a hike or go birding. We also love camping and exploring. But for 24 hours, I set aside all that looms. Occasionally, if I’ve had a sleep-deprived week, I’ll take a nap in the afternoon.

The beauty of Sabbath rest lies in what happens when the Sabbath ends. Somehow, all those dreadful deadlines and lists of things to do seem much more manageable. My mind has a chance to do a mental reset and cache-clearing. This allows me to start the week fresh with energy and joy.

When Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28) he already had the rest planned out from the beginning. If you’d like to study more about Sabbath rest, you can download a free Bible study.

Feeling weary? Maybe you need Sabbath rest. #Sabbath #fmfparty Click To Tweet

*Wondering why my students hear me praying, and why we have discussions like this? Simple. I work at a Christian boarding school for Native American students. Our goal isn’t to ‘convert’ them all to our denomination or religion. Instead, we seek to live out our relationships with Jesus in such a way that kids ask questions and desire to have their own personal relationship with Jesus.