Running on empty? Take a Sabbath

Learning to slow down in a crazy world

Recovering from covid the other week and still catching up on tasks so today I took the kids to soft play and packed my laptop with the full intension of getting some bits and pieces done before our vacation. Once we were all settled I opened it up only to discover I hadn't charged it and being soft play, there's not a socket to be found. It lasted all of 4 minutes of the 1hr45 minute session.

Have you ever found yourself with the best intentions and zero capacity or energy to see it though? Where and how do you recharge?

There are so many things in the world today that battle for our attention and energy and with constant access to a world of information in our back pockets with everyone expecting to get your immediate attention it can be overwhelming and incredibly draining.

Has anyone ever told you that that's not how it's supposed to be? Maybe they have and you need to be reminded.

The Bible says that we're to work 6 days and rest on the 7th. It seems a bit crazy having so much to do and most of the time wishing for another day in the week just to get things done rather than feeling like I have time for a full day to rest from all the work, but that's what it says.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. - Exodus 20:8-11

It's interesting here that we're told to Remember the Sabbath day. How often does Monday come around and you think "man, where did the weekend go?". Did you remember to rest? In order to remember it, we need to plan for it. Do you budget your money? (if you don't you should...topic for another time) In the same way, we should budget our time. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Time Budget Tool

HOW often are we to have these days of rest? We're told that it's every 7th day. If we work hard for the first 6 we can enjoy a day of rest on the 7th. But there's the key: Labour and do all your work in the 6 days.

But WHY a Sabbath? WHAT's its purpose? Well , it's a holy day. That doesn't mean a boring day with no fun, it's a time to delight in the blessings of God, after it was God himself who blessed it and made it holy. It's for our benefit, for our health and for His delight.

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. - Mark 2:27

If you'd like to read further on rest and the Sabbath, here are my recommendations:

• The Art of Rest: Faith to hit pause in a world that never stops Adam Mabry (2018)

• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world John Mark Comer (2019)

Many smartphones have reports you can run to see how much time has been spent on what app over the course of a day or week. Many also have wellbeing functions that can help you limit screen time and put time caps on apps so you don't lose hours scrolling. Don't forget to check out the time budget tool too. It's a great starting point to help you plan to rest.