The Journey To The Address Of Rest

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The Invitation In The Midst Of Activity

For women in small churches, Sunday is the Lord’s day, full of church commitments and service. Learn how this church girl came to embrace the concept of Sabbath rest.

This guest post is part of a series on Sabbath Rest for Small Church Ministry LLC, where we help women create joy & success in small church ministry. Any opinions expressed within this blog post are those of the author and not necessarily held by Small Church Ministry.

The Journey To The Address Of Rest

Rest! What Is That?!

Starting my journey into motherhood at 20, working 40 hours a week, and being the wife of an active-duty sailor, rest was not something I was accustomed to. Rest had a far away address, and I had not visited it often.

Even as an only child with a single mother, we were always on the go! Sunday, the culturally expected Sabbath day, was our chosen hamster wheel for the first day of the week, and then daily life followed.

It was my understanding that the Sabbath was God’s day. Whether for service to the Body of Christ or worship, we were taught to practice Sunday observance. The “day of rest” and the true purpose of the Sabbath never really was expounded upon. Though my mother insisted on “staying in” from time to time, the tangibility of Sabbath rest didn’t materialize for me until 2 years ago.

The Move From Activity To Active Rest

In time, as I became more aware that I needed Christ Jesus’ influence in my everyday affairs, I began diving into my Bible. I made a point during naptime at my home daycare to open my Bible and “eat.” Despite being thrilled that I was learning so much (and was so full) I hadn’t experienced God’s rest like He had promised.

Bible study was another activity on the list of many things that NEEDED to be done.

Young and vibrant, I sought to be “strong!” Strong meant juggling everything and feeling accomplished by exhaustion. It was after my family survived a total loss house fire, and my injury put me in South Carolina living with my parents, that rest presented itself to be defined.

The Wind Of True Quietness

One day, while I was up at 5 am scrolling through Facebook, I caught wind of true quietness –– rest I would dare say.

I immediately replaced Facebook scrolling with YouTube sermons for weeks and realized I started feeling really cozy in the wee hours of the morning. I began setting an intentional alarm for 5 am each day. Initially, this was very hard to keep up, and many days I missed the alarm, sat up and fell asleep in a vertical position, or hit snooze one too many times.

But after a while, instead of staying in bed, I felt moved to drag myself out of bed into another room and felt a NEW urge to just do nothing –– not even to listen to a sermon.

An Urge To Do Nothing

Repetitively chanting out loud –– to keep my mind from wandering to the many tasks that I needed to complete –– I would say, “Lord, I’m listening.” Sometimes, this wave of peace lullabied me to sleep in a praying position. Often, my weary soul was just ministered to with affirmations. Sometimes, I would be led to open my Bible, and there was an answer to something I’d been pondering, or I’d read something, and when the day picked up, I could refer to it to tackle a problem.

It was in this hour –– or however long these moments lasted –– I truly rested for the first time, and my eyes were beginning to focus on the significance of the Sabbath!

There, in those moments, I …

• appreciated stillness
• learned how comfortable the Lord’s arms were for rest and reflection
• learned to give thanks and ask for nothing
• laughed from the enjoyment of the moment
• learned what discernment was
• learned how much could be learned from an intent to not intentionally do anything but be led

The Invitation To Rest Is Counter-Culture

I had not considered that this devoted time was Sabbath rest. The most I had heard of the phrase was when Jesus defended the disciples as the Pharisees scoffed at their work on the Sabbath in Mark 2:24-28. And in the commandment, God’s laws for early Christians were to keep the Sabbath holy in Exodus 20:8-11. I was not intentionally trying to adhere to what the phrase meant because I didn’t know.

My experience was led by the Holy Spirit because I hungered for something I didn’t truly know I needed. God was gracious enough to nudge me into adherence for my benefit. 

From these 5 am sessions, an awareness that I am human became strong.

Over time I shredded the …

• notion that I did not need rest because a list of to-dos needed to continue to shrink
• cultural encouragement for human beings to “rest when one is dead”
• notion that I didn’t deserve rest because I had “fallen short” in my own works.

I utilized this perfect opportunity to not do everything. The best way I found to do this is by accepting the invitation to say, “No thank you, I will not.” And I picked up the invitation to not have control of everything all the time. 

God Designed Us For Sabbath Rest Fuel

I now understand more than ever that I am not made to “go go go” like a steam engine. My God knew my limitations and that I would get caught up in the hustle and bustle. He sought to remind me to intentionally derail for the sake of receiving what my soul would long for: renewal from the only fuel that would sustain me.

I’ve become instrumental in teaching my children the same. We observe a “Freedom Friday” each week –– we are homeschoolers. It’s our version of a weekly Sabbath. It’s a day set aside for them to not push themselves to adhere to our usual schedule but do whatever their hearts desire. It’s not centered around God just yet, but as they age, I pray I can instruct them more to find God’s voice leading them to stillness, reflection, etc.

I truly believe the religious observance of Sabbath rest is about accepting the limitations of being human instead of ignoring them, diving into a life centered around hard work, and burning out or having to be made to sit still.

God Persuades Us To “Sit Awhile”

As we spend intentional time sitting down, we remind ourselves of the beauty of life, God’s goodness, comfort, and amazing grace. God’s delight is to provide rest if we choose to say, “Yes, I will.”

Had it not been for this opportunity to examine my understanding of God’s Sabbath rest recently, I would never have linked my 5 am sessions with adherence to God’s Word.

As God’s people, we desperately want to follow what He says, but we don’t see a practical way. We don’t think we know enough or understand enough. But the greatest effort we can ever make to do as the Lord commands is to obey His voice in the moments that we hear it –– however it presents.

Thank God for Sabbath observance.

Read More

Rest: Because God Cares For You

How A Reluctant Pastor’s Wife Found Real Sabbath