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Pastors Pondering

Sep 11, 2019

Last Sunday, I talked about how we might find more room in our schedule for those things that are fulfilling. We are all busy, but it often feels like there should be more to life than just busy-ness. Although I didn’t get to touch on it in the sermon, we heard Exodus 20:8-11 read during the worship service. It is one of the Ten Commandments, specifically the one about keeping the sabbath:

“8 Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God…”
The days of blue laws are long gone and few of us really pay much attention to keeping the sabbath holy. However, there is something profoundly valuable about setting aside time on a regular basis for something different. We all can benefit from a change of pace. The principle and practice of Sabbath can remind us that our life is not measured by our work and accomplishments. Sabbath can allow us time to rest and catch our breath. We can separate ourselves from all the hectic activity that engages us throughout the week. Sabbath can give us space to connect with our families and our neighbors. And sabbath can give us time to be still and encounter God.

Sabbath can come in many different forms. Here are a few possibilities: Take a nap or sleep in once a week. Take a few moments at different times throughout the day to breathe deeply in and out. Go outside and take a walk thirty minutes each day. Set aside ten minutes to read a chapter from the Bible or an online devotional. Offer a brief prayer before you start a drive in the car, praying for your family, your neighbors, yourself and others that come to mind. Light a candle in the evening. Participate in worship with others each Sunday. Pick up the phone and call a friend for conversation. Use your vacation time each year.

There are many ways that we can experience sabbath. We can open our lives to make room for those things that lift our spirits and keep us growing, no matter how old we may be. God whispers to us when we take the time to pause and listen, really listen.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Steve