Finding Rest

Man was created by God for work. For the Christian, life without work is meaningless; but work must never become the meaning of one’s life.

Finding fulfillment in the work God created us to do requires that we take a break.

Work is one of the primary means by which we fulfill our true purpose: to glorify God, serve the common good, and further God’s kingdom. God reminds us of this on the seventh day of creation.

God worked for six days, and then he rested – not because he was tired but because he had “completed his work.” God teaches us that work is not an end in and of itself. This is why he instituted the Sabbath. In Deuteronomy 20:8-11, God repeats this idea again in the Ten Commandments when he says to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Today culture views work as an end. Work supplies our identity and gives meaning to our lives by maximizing success and money through our labor. Our work is never finished, and the constant drive to prove ourselves destroys our ability to find rest. We can’t sit still and unplug. This drive also inhibits our ability to find fulfillment in our work.

This distortion of work’s purpose cripples our chances of finding true joy and fulfillment in our work. It also hinders and distracts us from worshipping God. When divorced from God, all work degenerates into pure self-centered ambition.

The only thing that will silence the condemning voices driving so many of us to the brink of exhaustion is the biblical discipline of Sabbath rest.

Correctly practicing the Sabbath brings about a new spiritual understanding of both work and the whole of our lives. The purpose of the Sabbath is not rejuvenation in order to be more productive. Nor is it only the pursuit of pleasure.

Instead, the purpose of Sabbath is to enjoy:

God
Joyful worship with God’s people
God’s glorious creation
Time with family
Life in general
Your accomplishments, achieved through God’s help
The freedom found in the gospel, freedom from slavery to any material object or human expectation
The Sabbath is a time to unplug from our vocational work. The author of Hebrews writes that we have to labor diligently to enter God’s rest. We have to work hard at disconnecting from what we do the other six days and really enjoy the release and peace that God has designed for us on this holy day. Sabbath keeping has to be intentional.

Setting aside one day in seven to observe the Sabbath will begin to change the way we see our work and what it can and cannot accomplish.

We should love the vocational work God has given us so much that he makes us take off a day every week. Let Sabbath rest rejuvenate you and your work.