By Jon Kehrer
The first summer of my college career, I spent eight weeks in Tanzania. I was thrilled about the opportunity to learn about life overseas, especially when I thought about the potential to travel and share the gospel in smaller towns and villages. I could hardly wait to get there and do something significant. When we landed, we spent a week or so recovering from jet lag, listening to people’s experiences, and learning our way around town. I was disappointed; I wanted to do ministry. Finally, I got word that within a few days, we would take a trip to several rural areas, where I would have a chance to preach. I could hardly contain my excitement.
The morning of our departure, I woke up early with my stomach churning. In the hours that followed, I experienced an illness unlike anything I had ever known before. At a medical clinic later that day, I learned I had probably eaten some contaminated lettuce. A Tanzanian doctor told me with a cheery laugh: “We call this a warm African welcome!” I did not find it funny.
Needless to say, the trip happened without me. I was angry, especially at God, although I was not quite sure that was allowed. I wrote in my journal, “I am just existing in Africa. I didn’t think I raised $4,000 to exist in Africa.” Aside from the fact that I had not raised a cent of that money (pride was just one of many sins God was exposing that summer), I had no clue what God could possibly accomplish through this experience. What good could I achieve when I was stopping?
Surely all of us understand the value of a little rest every now and then, in moderation. But when we are forced to stop, it can get very uncomfortable very quickly. Rest just feels so terribly unproductive, and wouldn’t God want us to be productive?
As we read Scripture, it becomes clear that resting is actually important. God built rest into the rhythm of creation. Genesis 2:2-3 says that God “stopped” on the seventh day of creation (the Hebrew word for “stopped” here is shabat, from which we get our English word Sabbath). God blessed the day and set it apart from the rest of the week. God even noted later to Moses that on this day he “caught his breath” (Exodus 31:17), implying that his creation will do the same. A command concerning rest was one of the ten words God delivered to Moses (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-14). In the wilderness, manna appeared six days a week and not on the seventh, in order that the people might have a day set apart to stop (Exodus 16:23). When God delivered the seventh part of the tabernacle instructions to Moses, he commanded that tabernacle construction should never crowd out stopping once a week (Exodus 31:13).
Rest and Renewal
Inside the tabernacle, God instructed the Israelites to place a lampstand (a seven-stemmed light symbolizing God’s presence) near a table with the bread of the presence on it (the 12 loaves of bread representing the people of God). This was a physical reminder that the light of God’s presence constantly shone on his people. Yet once a week, on the seventh day, the priest was to come in and change out the old bread for fresh bread (Leviticus 24:8). Why? It was a symbolic reminder that in stopping on the seventh day, God would renew them.
As we read these texts, we begin to realize that this is about more than just stopping. God intended our stopping to shape our theology.
If it is so important, why do so few of us do it?
Perhaps we think the New Testament did away with a weekly rhythm of stopping. If we read the New Testament carefully, however, we see that Jesus never discarded the Sabbath. It was his favorite day to pick on the religious leaders, but Jesus was highlighting Sabbath abuses, not condemning the practice in general (Mark 2:27-28). Paul had harsh words for those who wanted to judge others on the basis of a day like a Sabbath, but he was suggesting believers submit to the Lord of the Sabbath, not that they reject wholesale the idea of rest (Colossians 2:16-17).
Perhaps we struggle to rest because it feels selfish. We may put off stopping until we can take a break guilt-free, but we may always feel like there are more people who need us. Yet God designed rhythms of stopping to draw us near to him, and time with God is surely one of the best ways to prepare us to serve others. We just have to be willing to embrace a day when we are not as productive as we may hope.
Rest and Vulnerability
Perhaps you struggle with rest because, like me, sometimes you are afraid of what might come up if you do rest. I frequently know that I have emotions to process, disappointments to feel, or loss to embrace, and all of that feels far too vulnerable. It is much easier to stay busy and productive, especially if I can serve other people and feel good about myself in the meantime. Now, my inner dialogue is rarely this honest; I usually tell myself that I’ve really got too much to do. However, I discover that when things do slow down, and I have a few moments of calm, I start to get uncomfortable with the silence. I have experienced this enough to now recognize this as an unhealthy pattern, and I know keeping busy will not make my problems go away.
So, then, if God thinks it is important, and if we can overcome some of these obstacles, how do we start to create rhythms of rest?
We can start by actually blocking out time for rest on our calendars. If I block out part of my day for reflection, a whole day for a weekly stopping, or several days for retreat, and then I act as if I am keeping to the schedule I’ve created for myself, I’m much more likely to actually observe it. When the time comes, I’ve made it easy for myself to just step into whatever is already on my calendar.
Once the day of stopping arrives, what do you do?
Well, it’s not complicated. You just stop.
Some of us need more than that, so here is a helpful principle: avoid activities that would check anything off a list for you. In the Old Testament, since most people had the same rhythms of work, certain daily activities were off limits on Sabbath, like gathering sticks to make a fire (Numbers 15:32-36). Today, few of us would need to gather sticks to survive, so it seems hunting in the forest for a good walking stick would be just fine. God says, “six days you should labor and you should do all of your work, and the seventh day, a stopping for the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:9-10). If something falls into the productive categories of “labor” and “work,” leave it for another day.
Another principle to guide your day is to not over-plan or overthink the day. Plan a few meaningful activities but allow plenty of margin around the edges. Since the Lord’s design is for the day to draw us close to him, I think it is wise to spend some time sitting with him on your day of rest. However, I think God also wanted us to enjoy the day, so resist the pressure to over-spiritualize every moment.
One final principle I have found helpful is to pay attention to what we actually need. Once a break is secured, I have learned that the thing I often want to do (which is to decompress by excessively consuming something, whether social media or entertainment or food) is not the best thing for me. If this is how I spend my resting, I often return more depleted than before. Instead, I have learned that time in nature, time with the Lord, and sometimes even a nap, are the most restorative activities to help me feel refreshed. What we really need is space from distractions to quiet the noise in our heads.
Planning and Rest
What about people who can’t take a whole day to rest, such as those caring for aging parents or small children? How do you stop when your season of life refuses to give you rest?
First, try to plan strategically. Is there something you can do in advance to relieve the work you may have to do on that day? In the New Testament, the day before Sabbath was known as “the day of preparation,” and in our family, we have learned that there is great wisdom in taking a whole day (or more!) to get ready for resting. In our family’s more intense seasons of raising small children, we would plan a few very simple meals in advance for our Sabbath, the kinds of meals that aren’t winning any parent-of-the-year awards but that are sufficient to get us fed. Many weeks, the only preparation needed at dinner time was pulling a container out of the refrigerator, and we ended those days feeling much more rested than we would have otherwise.
Second, consider your community. Is there anyone you could invite in to give you a break? Is there someone else in the house, a family member or a friend, that could pick up your responsibilities for a few hours?
Once you get a true taste of the rhythms of rest, I imagine you will long for more. Stopping our relentless schedules creates a break from our culture of consumerism and productivity. We may begin to realize that there is more that God is wanting to do in us through our stopping. In our family, rhythms of weekly rest have created a longing for practices of solitude and retreat. While we would have considered this impossible in other seasons, we have now learned that if we want it bad enough, it is just a matter of planning to make it happen.
That summer in Africa, as I recovered from sickness, God was working on my heart. I began to realize that ministry wasn’t always as glamorous as I had imagined. I began to grasp that God may want to do something in me before he did anything through me. Those experiences started a lifetime journey of learning about the value of stopping. I still consider myself a novice, but as I look back at my journey, I’m amazed at how much God has transformed me through rhythms of rest.
Who knew stopping could accomplish so much?
John Kerher is professor of Old Testament and biblical languages at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri.
Author: Christian Standard
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