Entering Rest
It’s Saturday afternoon. The pizza dough is ready, the oven is fired up, and we’re gathered around our dining table - six expectant faces who have been learning this rhythm for years now. The work is done and we are about to receive an invitation.
“It’s here again! The Lord invites us to taste and see that he is good!”
Then slowly, deliberately, one by one, I go around the table asking my children and my wife, “Will you enter into Jesus’ rest?” Someone asks me the same. Then we raise whatever drink we have to hand and toast the Lord of the Sabbath as consent to a foretaste of the future hope we hold.
Our Sabbath is a practice of stopping, delighting, worship and rest. It isn’t lazy, but it surrenders the tasks of the week and yields to the gift and promise of the Creator. We often get lost in stories through film and books, and we play together. We worship as a family with our church community. We eat more slowly, linger longer, and resist as much as possible the constant pull of a breakneck pace world.
There are weekends we fail at our commitment. Somehow our intentionality slips, and we stop without ceasing, taste without savoring. It’s taken over a decade of practice to get to where we are. It grew out of the demanding schedule of bi-vocational life, working full-time in a secular IT job whilst pastoring in a local church. As a young family, we’d heard plenty about the burnout and family loss that can occur without healthy boundaries. So we took that counsel and drew some lines around a day to be with God and each other.
We made discoveries. The way of the Kingdom defies the Industrial Age. Sometimes greater efficiency doesn’t provide the best output. Sometimes we have to let things go fallow.
We also found that changes in seasons and stages required adaptation of our practice. We used to take all of Saturday as one calendar day of rest. That helped a lot when we were regularly ministering to others most of Sunday. In this season, we take Saturday morning to do our chores and our Sabbath runs from 4pm Saturday until dinner on Sunday. The Spirit leads, the calendar yields.
How many of us need to receive this invitation from the Lord? What difference would it make in our lives if we lived our theology – that the Lord is sovereign and the mission is his and we are merely partners in his Great Commission – by actually resting as he both offers and commands?
Sadly, Sabbath as a practice isn’t just counter-cultural in the secular world. It seems to get trampled in the bustle of ministry, too. Nobody is going to gift this to you except for the Lord and your own willingness to participate. But we hope you pluck up the courage and consider the invitation: will you enter Jesus’ rest?
Below are some suggested resources. Dip your toe in or dive into the depths, and get in touch if you want to discuss the need for rest in your life and ministry.
Sabbath E-Book
This short, free e-book by Pete Scazzero introduces the four core practices of Sabbath: stop, rest, delight, contemplate
Podcast with John Mark Comer
Sabbath is the first practice being explored on this new podcast featuring John Mark Comer (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, Loveology, God Has a Name). You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms.
Book About Rest in Every Area of Life
Saundra Dalton-Smith covers the various areas of life we all have to navigate, and how rest is a vital gift for each of them. Go on a journey with this book and we'd love to hear your insights and experiences.