When we talk about Sabbath, we rarely think about what it means for God. Usually, we know we need a sabbath when we are exhausted and don’t think we can go much further. Sabbath usually centers around our mental and spiritual health.

We must sabbath for God.

True, God isn’t going to smite you if you refuse to take a break. He isn’t going to get jealous at all the fine work you’re doing by not stopping. God won’t curse you if you work on a Sunday. But I do believe God won’t be in our work if we don’t rest in Him.

If you are anything like me, your idea of rest consists of binge-watching House of Cards on Netflix. Some will delight in their favorite hobby. Others will go out to the golf course. These are all great things (especially House of Cards). It is important to turn your mind off every now and then. But very rarely do we focus on God in those moments. Rarely do we state that we are stopping work to rest in Him. Normally, we stop work because we need a break.

There has to be an intentional focus on God.

When I stop work and rest for God, I notice a change in my behavior.

When I Sabbath for God, I notice:

I renew my covenant with Him…

I find Him in everything I do…

I stop worrying about my job…

I quit using words like relevant, connecting, and other trendy words churches use to build relationships within their community…

When I Sabbath for God, I notice that I have taken control of my life too much and tried to stop God from doing what God wants to do. Rest can remind us that we are tired and worn out, but when we intentionally focus on God during that time, we also see how our work for Him has been far from Him.

Our constant need to control things drives us further from God. So when we rest, we draw nearer to Him. When we rest, we remember that our strength comes from Him. When we rest, we realize how little we can do on our own.

Being in ministry, sometimes the last thing I want to do on my day off is focus on God. I know, that sounds horrible. If we were all honest with ourselves, I think we would see how horrible each of us actually is. The point being, I know it is horrible. I’m not a great person. Usually on my day off, I want to watch all of the television shows I missed during the week, go see a movie, read a new book, take a drive, go to Three Floyds, or clean my apartment. Very rarely do I want to think about God in the midst of all of this. I usually have to force myself to focus on God. The human side of me says just to take a break, but the Spirit in me says to turn my thoughts toward God.

We have to Sabbath for God. God doesn’t need us to do this (even though He did command us to do this). But I think when we Sabbath for God, it reaffirms our covenant with Him. It focuses our misdirected attention back on Him. Our works that were once done in vain are now done with purpose. Weariness is replaced with strength.

When we seek God in our rest, then we will find Him in our work.