"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God..." – Exodus 20:8-10
I don't know about you, but honouring the Sabbath seems to be easier said than done. There's a reason why God commands us to "remember" the Sabbath—because it's easy to forget just how limited we are as depraved, sinful and flawed people.
In a day and age marked by the necessity of hard work and hustle to achieve results, we can sometimes easily forget to take a break. That's why we need the Holy Spirit to remind us that apart from Christ, we are nothing and that our accomplishment comes only through God's grace.
Remembering the Sabbath means more than just spending one day away from work. The Sabbath mindset should also trickle down into your work-week as well. After all 1 Thessalonians 5:17 urges us to "pray without ceasing." Even in the midst of busy work days, we can rest in God. Sabbath is not just for the end (or start) of the week. Here are four tips to experience God's rest on busy days.
1. Draw Near To Christ
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Work can sometimes overwhelm us even to the brink of exhaustion and burnout. But in those times we can remember that we serve a God who invites us to come to Him simply to find rest for our souls.
2. Seek First God's Kingdom
Before seeking the next quick fix, the weekend break, the next payday or the completion of a project, the Bible tells us first to "seek first the kingdom of God" and allow God to add all other things after. (Matthew 6:33)
The more we chase after money, success and rewards, the harder the journey will be. But as we seek God more and more on a regular basis, He will add all those things with ease.
3. Exercise
Studies show that people who exercise have more energy throughout the day than people who don't. Physical fitness not only gives us that extra boost of energy, but also assures that our bodies function normally. When our bodies are healthy, our minds and even our emotions become healthy as well.
4. Do Things For God
Passion is the most natural way to give ourselves the peace and satisfaction that prevents burnout from happening. And what passion could possibly be greater than the passion to serve God through our jobs? A task, no matter how mundane, will have more meaning when we treat it as worship to our Lord. Colossians 3:23 encourages us, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."
