Last week I wrote about the necessity of a Sabbath. I hope you were able to examine your own life to see if you have a consistent, regular Sabbath. After I finished writing the article, a few more thoughts came to mind.
First, and it’s something I learned the hard way: if you don’t sabbath now, the Lord will make you sabbath later, usually when you’re not ready for it. I’ve seen this time and time again with leaders who are constantly doing ministry but don’t take a Sabbath. There are a few reasons for this. One, they have a mindset that the world needs saving and there isn’t any time to rest because there’s a dying world out there. Two, they have so much energy that it seems to be a waste of energy to rest. Three, they believe that since they are a Christian, they have a Spirit-enabled power that will help them continue on no matter what.
But here’s what happens. When you don’t take a Sabbath, your body is constantly running on adrenaline. Adrenaline is good for short-term situations but unhealthy when constantly used over a long period. And when one doesn’t take a Sabbath and is running on adrenaline, at some point your body will give out, straining your heart and lungs. I’ve seen pastors diagnosed with heart and respiratory problems, requiring emergency hospitalization, and always at the wrong time. Most can be attributed to the lack of a Sabbath.
Therefore, schedule a weekly Sabbath. Your body, mind, and soul needs the down-time to recharge and recalibrate. Otherwise the Lord will schedule a Sabbath for you, typically when you don’t want it. And when the Lord schedules your Sabbath it could look like an unexpected hospital stay, an unscheduled time away from your family, or even an unforeseen circumstance that will cause you to rest.
Second, your Sabbath is a time to be filled by the Lord. Gary Thomas in his book Sacred Pathways outlines nine different personality-types and how they commune with God: naturalist, sensate, traditionalist, ascetic, activist, caregiver, enthusiast, contemplative, and intellectual. Therefore not everyone will commune with God the same way. You need to find the prime way you can go deep with God. For me, I’m a combination of ascetic and intellectual – I get filled when there’s silence and I learn something new about God.
Here’s what happens when you are constantly doing ministry and you don’t take a Sabbath: you give-give-give but there is nothing to replenish what you have given out, and soon your tanks are empty. This results in one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual state being “crispy” – you are completely exhausted and there’s nothing more to give. If one more person asks you for help, you will just crumble to the floor. You want to take a break but you can’t because the ministry can’t run without you. Because of a lack of a scheduled Sabbath, you have made yourself indispensable which is a very dangerous place to be.
Thus, in order to avoid this common scenario, take a Sabbath. This will help you refill your tanks so that you are able to give while remaining healthy. Use your Sabbaths to recharge with God. Find your Sacred Pathway and engage in it every week. You will find your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tanks refilled so that you can minister out of what you have, not what you don’t have.
Third, I need to make a confession. I cheat on my weekly Sabbaths. I sometimes don’t take a full day off to rest. Why? Because I’ve integrated into my schedule a daily Sabbath in addition to a weekly Sabbath. Let me explain. My best hours of the day are in the mornings. This is when I’m at my best; I can think straight, I’m creative, I can solve problems, I’m attentive. By the time early afternoon rolls around, I’m no good; my thinking slows down, I tend to be impatient, and my body doesn’t have energy. Therefore I’ll leave the office, head home, and take a small nap. This nap recharges my body.
Then I’ll start doing work at home. I’ll exercise, write, study, and read. In the midst of my reading, I will deliberately read something for my soul. In my morning devotions I’m currently going through 1Samuel and I’m learning a lot about character through Samuel, Saul, and David. But during the second half of my day, I’m reading David: A Man of Passion & Destiny by Charles Swindoll. This helps to feed my soul. I’ll learn something new about God. I get recharged. This helps prepare me for the next day. Other times I’ll read short biographies of Christians who finished well. The past week I read about Samuel Brengle, a revivalist for the Salvation Army in the early 1900’s. Reading a biography is like being mentored by a seasoned saint.
These deliberate pauses in my day helps to restore my whole self. Therefore when the weekend comes along I don’t necessarily need to take a full day Sabbath because I have been taking daily Sabbaths throughout the week. I find this is a better balance for me and will allow me to last in the long haul.
Questions to Think About:
Can you think of someone who isn’t taking a Sabbath? If he/she stays on the current trajectory, what do you think will happen?
Are you at a place where you are constantly giving but not receiving? If so, what can you do to change that?
© Gary Lau 2013
All rights reserved. This article may not be distributed, forwarded or duplicated without prior permission from the author.
Leave a Reply