Unpacking the Fourfold Rest of the Sabbath

Introduction

Continuing my last blog post on the Sabbath, we must enter into God’s rest after ceasing. Sabbath involves four areas of rest that we can embrace: spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual. Spiritual rest carries us into a spirit of worship, which we can then carry over to the rest of our week. Physical rest helps renew our energy and zeal for life. Emotional and intellectual rest provide opportunities to gain new perspectives and creative insights, which will also help us in the coming week.

Dawn (1989) asserted, “Just as true resting from work is more than ceasing to work, so the complete resting of our whole being is more than mere physical rest without labor. To rest utterly in the grace of God is the foundation for wholistic rest” (p.54). To experience Sabbath rest, we must first cease, and then enter into rest, a time to pause, pay attention, and receive the gifts that God has waiting for us.

Spiritual Rest

Spiritual rest needs to come before physical rest because we cannot have a truly rested body if we have unrest in our spirits. Burroughs (1648), in the classic book The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, described a powerful picture of outward and inward rest. “A shoe may appear to be polished and tidy on the outside, but it may be pinching the foot on the inside. There may be an outward appearance of serenity and tranquility, yet within there is tremendous chaos, animosity, unrest, and frustration” (p.4).

In Psalm 55:21, when describing a person with outward peace but inward chaos, King David stated, “His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.” On the outside, we may appear to be calm, but on the inside, we may be filled with bitterness, confusion, anxiety, and a host of other emotions. Spiritual rest and peace frees us to rest in God’s amazing grace. Without real rest, even if we’re taking Sunday “off”, we still may be living in the addiction of workaholism the other six days of the week.

Martin Luther, in the Treatise on Good Works, argued that “The spiritual rest which God especially intends in the commandment [to keep the Sabbath holy] is that we not only cease from our labor and trade but much more­­—that we let God alone work in us and that in all our powers do we do nothing of our own.” We often try to control our lives and their outcomes, but the Sabbath reminds us that God alone is in control.

Eugene Peterson (1985) points out something interesting about the Sabbath and why it starts in the evening, not in the morning. “Evening: God begins, without our help, his creative day. Morning: God calls us to enjoy and share and develop the work he initiated” (p.53). Receiving spiritual rest on the Sabbath means enjoying and sharing in the creative work that God is doing, paying attention to his sovereign hand in our lives and all around us, and being gently held in his gracious presence.

Physical Rest

Spiritual rest frees us to fully embrace the much-needed physical rest that we crave deep in our bones… at least, I feel it in my bones the older I get. Dawn (1989) tells a beautiful historical story of the need for physical rest.

“The story is told of a wagon train on its way from Saint Louis to Oregon. Its members were devout Christians, so the whole group observed the habit of stopping for the Sabbath day. Winter was approaching quickly, however, and some among the group began to panic and fear that they wouldn’t reach their destination before the heavy snow. Consequently, several members proposed to the rest of the group that they should quit their practice of stopping for the Sabbath and continue driving onward seven days a week.

This proposal triggered a lot of contention in the community, so finally it was suggested that the wagon train should split into two groups, those who wanted to observe the Sabbath and those who preferred to travel on that day. The proposal was accepted, and both groups set out and travelled together until the next Sabbath day, when one group continued while the other remained at rest.

Guess which group got to Oregon first? You’re right. The ones who kept the Sabbath reached their destination first. Both the people and the horses were so rested by their Sabbath observance that they could travel much more vigorously and effectively the other six days of the week. God honors those who honor his commands” (p.65-66).

Sabbath activities should feel and be restful for you. We should never be pressured into activities that feed our false identity, make us feel guilty, or push us to meet other people’s expectations. Our bodies need Sabbath rest. It’s essential.

Dawn describes an interesting scientific study which reveals our biological need for rest. “The interchange of physical activity and rest has been studied extensively by Juan-Cardos Lerman, whose research at the University of Arizona shows the biological need for rest every seventh day and the energizing value of rest. According to Lerman’s theory, failing to rest after six days of steady work will lead to insomnia or sleepiness, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, irritability, organ stress, and other increasingly serious physical and mental symptoms.

Lerman suggests that this need for rest every seventh day is rooted in the fact that the human biological clock operates on a 25-hour cycle. Because organized society prevents us from getting up one hour later each day to follow our natural internal clock, our body demands the time to ‘sleep in’ or rest every so often to recover from the forced 24-hour time cycle that is too short. Lerman insists that we must ‘cease labor’ once every seven days and rest our bodies for longer periods than on other days in order to catch up on our cycle of time. He also adds that the biblical Sabbath commandment includes the ideas of both cessation of labor and refreshment” (p.69). Embracing Sabbath rest and receiving the physical renewal our bodies crave will help us be more energized, productive, and happy for the rest of the week. 

Emotional Rest

After we have embraced and received physical rest, God then invites us into emotional rest. If you are familiar with the story of Elijah in the Bible (1 Kings 18:16-46), you will remember that after defeating all the priests of Baal, he is threatened by Jezebel and runs for his life. In one day, he felt excitement, exhilaration, fear, doubt, despair, and probably even more emotions. He was emotionally exhausted. In the cave of hiding, God first gave Elijah physical rest by putting him to sleep. Then he woke him up and fed him food. Then he slept again, and God woke him up for food another time. Once Elijah was sufficiently rested and renewed physically, then God dealt with Elijah’s emotions.

God did not criticize Elijah for his fear and doubt. Graciously, God met Elijah where he was, listened to him, and then provided him with a new perspective. Sabbath is about deepening our relationships, especially with God. It’s also about being honest with God about how we’re feeling.

We receive deep emotional rest by praying, meditation on God’s Word, and quietly listening to him. Art, music, poetry, and conversations with friends and family provide me with emotional rest. Dawn (1989) stated, “Letting God be God in our lives gives us the freedom to deal constructively with our emotions, to accept them and listen to them, but not to be controlled by them. In fact, ceasing our striving to be God lets us rest in our true emotions and appreciate all the nuances of our own personalities” (p.77).

I often need enough time to allow my true emotions to come to the surface so I can deal with them. My emotions need time and a sense of safety. By resting in God with our emotions, we can come to acknowledge and appreciate them. Emotions are clues to what is going on inside of us. Remember, Jesus was fully human and fully God, and he experienced all the human emotions. Allowing God to hold our emotions with us can help provide new perspectives. During the Sabbath, God invites us into a deeper relationship with him, an authentic and honest relationship, where he graciously listens, loves us, gives us new perspectives, and deep emotional rest.     

Intellectual Rest

“The fragmented nature of our experience prevents us from grasping a coherent view of the whole” (Dawn, 1989, p.78). We all need time to think and reflect. The Sabbath provides a pause, a fermata, time to piece together our fragmented human experience of living in a fallen world. Dawn (1989) argued that “When by faith we take our position in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), we can become detached enough from the world’s notions of success to understand more clearly what God intends to do in the world and thereby to find more carefully our place within his purposes… Our intellectual rest gives us the courage to give up any senseless thinking or intellectual pride that might thwart God’s purposes” (p.79).

As my brothers and I grew up, my dad often said, “The older I get, the more I realize what I don’t know.” I, like my dad, love to learn. Intellectual pursuits can be good, fun, and engaging, but taken too far, can spread us thin. At least, that is what I have found. While working on my PhD and as a principal, I do not engage in work or intellectual pursuits on Saturday or Sunday. Instead, I read more poetry, scripture, and sometimes even some fairy tales, especially by C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald. By pausing from intellectual pursuits, the Holy Spirit can renew my mind and prevent me from becoming entrapped in the world’s mindsets or patterns of thinking. The Sabbath helps to renew my fragmented mind, helping me gain God’s coherent view and perspective, and develop the mind of Christ.  

Aids to Rest

What gifts enable you to experience deep rest? This often looks slightly different for different people. I will share some of my favourites. I don’t engage with these gifts/experiences every Sabbath, but many of them often find their way into our weekly Sabbath. Listening to lovely music, drawing, colouring, playing music, napping, pour-over coffees, tea (I’m loving Bengal Spice Tea right now), delicious leftovers (especially making French toast with the leftover challah bread), lighting candles, cozying up with a blanket, cuddling with my kids, going for a walk with my wife, and (again) reading poetry or fairy tales. These gifts, at least for me, help me remember that God is a Creator and Designer. And he’s created me to do the same. I’m created in his image.

As a family, we also have some traditions that help us slow our pace down, enjoy each other, and experience Sabbath rest. I also enjoy journaling, thinking, coming up with creative ideas, and writing songs, but I also try to ensure that I am not striving or struggling in the creative process. I try to keep things light, playful, and more child-like on the Sabbath. God loves to give his children gifts, knows our hearts, and knows what will help us receive his Sabbath rest.   

Conclusion

On the Sabbath, first, we cease, and then we rest. God wants us to experience all the dimensions of rest: spiritually, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Spiritual rest invites us to take praise, worship, and prayer into the rest of our work week. Physical rest renews our energy, zeal, and motivation for the work week. Emotional rest gives us ease, new perspective, and God’s insights, his view of who he has created us to be. Intellectual rest renews our minds and helps us resist the patterns of this world.

Nicolas Wolterstorff, in his book Until Justice and Peace Embrace, stated that “A rhythmic alternation of work and worship, laboring and liturgy is one of the significant distinguishing features of the Christian’s way of being-in-the-world” (p.147). As Christians, we are called to be in this world but not of this world. I once heard that, as Christians, we should allow the world to be like a loose-fitting garment lightly touching our skin. So, I encourage you (and myself) to embrace the Sabbath, cease our striving, and experience shalom (God’s peace-filled completeness… which allows us to flourish, not just survive). Shabbat Shalom!

References:

Burroughs, J. (1648). The rare jewel of Christian contentment (in Modern English). Modern Puritans.

Dawn, M. J. (1989). Keeping the Sabbath wholly: Ceasing, resting, embracing, feasting. Eerdmans.

Luther, M. (1966). Treatise on good works. In H. T. Lehmann (Gen. Ed.), Luther’s works: Vol. 44. The Christian in society I (W. A. Lambert, Trans., J. Atkinson, Rev.). Fortress Press. (Original work published 1520)

Peterson, E. H. (1985). The pastor’s Sabbath. Leadership, Spring, 53.

Wolterstorff, N. (1983). Until justice and peace embrace. William B. Eerdmans.