For Michael and I, Monday is our day off–our Sabbath. After a full day on Sunday with church, various meetings, or planning, Monday rolls in like a gift. We often sleep in, enjoy a leisurely morning over breakfast, hot drinks (coffee for Michael, tea for me), and the Word, and spend elongated time journaling or praying. We focus on doing things that are refreshing and life-giving, like walking at the Arboretum in the afternoon or reading a book at a coffee shop. It is the only kind of day I know when I do not feel even a little rushed, hurried, or focused on moving on to the next task. The blessing is that this day comes each week.
Taking a true Sabbath has built multiple truths into my heart, most of which get played out in the smaller stage of my life every week. But primary among those truths is the fact that that I am not in control. When I spend six days accomplishing goals, finishing tasks, and moving forward in my job, the seventh day of rest reminds me that I am not the one holding the world together or keeping life in balance. God is on the throne, and he is the only one who has any real control or power over anything. When I stop my working on a recurring and regular day of rest, it tells me that the world gets on very well without me, and that I am not actually needed. This is a very good, very humbling, and very important weekly reminder for my often self-centred soul.
In the grand scheme of the world, I am loved, but not needed. Wanted, but not necessary. Loved by a God who loves enough to die for those he loves, but not needed by him. Wanted by this same God of grace and mercy, but not necessary. The Sabbath reminds me that I was created out of love and am loved because of who He is–not what I do or accomplish. I can be rather than do and still be loved.
And this is very good news indeed.
