In my most recent post, I shared one important reason why we Sabbath: because others need us to.

But if we’re going to follow a Biblical Sabbath—a 24-hour period of rest—it can be a daunting thing to go from “gleaning to the edges of the field” (Leviticus 23:22, as discussed in my previous post) to a whole day of rest each and every week.

Which is why I want to invite you to take just a few steps towards keeping the Sabbath.

These five steps are designed to either 1) get you from 0 hours a week of Sabbath to at least some kind of Sabbath, or 2) help you grow in your practice of Sabbath-keeping:

1. Acknowledge the Obstacles

As I mentioned in my previous post, if all that was needed to practice Sabbath in the way God invites us to was more information, I’d just have a conversation with you, read you a few Scripture passages, hand you a book or two, and you’d be off on your Sabbath-keeping journey.

But information isn’t enough. If information was all you needed to keep the Sabbath, you’d be doing it by now.

Something—maybe multiple somethings—is keeping you from keeping the Sabbath.

So let’s identify what those obstacles are. The obstacles keeping us from keeping the Sabbath are as unique as each one of us.

Maybe your life is filled to the brim with tasks and events. Maybe your life is filled by your kids’ full schedule. Maybe you have to work multiple jobs. Maybe you feel guilt and shame any time you’re not being productive. Maybe you have a health condition that keeps you from rest.

I want you to take a moment and identify those obstacles. Write them in a journal. Share them with a friend. Pull out your phone and type it into your notes app.

Just identify what’s keeping you from keeping the Sabbath. Until you do identify those obstacles, you’ll constantly be hindered by them.

2. Who are you Sabbathing for?

In my first post, I mentioned that there are many good reasons to Sabbath, but one is because others need us to Sabbath.

So who are those others that you need to Sabbath for? A spouse? A child? Your grandchildren? Your congregation? Your employer? Your employee?

Write them down and keep them in mind when you’re bumping up against the obstacles of Sabbath keeping.

3. Just Start! (And Stop)

The best advice I have about practicing Sabbath-keeping is: Begin where you are.

If it seems impossible to begin with a day of rest, then begin with half a day. Or an hour. Or 15 minutes. Just start wherever you are by stopping whatever it is that is your version of productivity.

The word “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word שבת (shabat), meaning “cease.” Sabbath doesn’t have to be something fancy (though it can be fancy if you want it to be). All you have to do on Sabbath is cease. Cease the grind. Cease the emails. Cease the to-do list. Cease and rest in the love of your Heavenly Father.

I think you’ll be amazed at what God does with just an hour or two of Sabbath-keeping. If all you can give Him right now is an hour, see what He does with that hour. An hour in His hands is much better than an entire day in our hands.

But don’t just be content with just an hour or afternoon of Sabbath-keeping. I hear so many people say that they experience an obstacle to keeping the Sabbath, so they find a few hours here and there to rest. What surprises me is that they’re often just satisfied with just those couple of hours. God encourages us to grow in our spiritual lives, including growth in the practice of keeping the Sabbath. The goal—the design—of Sabbath is a full day of ceasing and resting.

Commit yourself to growth in the grace of Sabbath-keeping. Maybe you give God 15 minutes this week and 30 minutes next week, and on from there. But commit yourself to growth.

Also, don’t abandon Sabbath just because it doesn’t go well the first few times. The gift of this “holy day” (how we get the word “holiday”) is that we get to practice it every single week. We don’t abandon the holiday of Christmas simply because we have a stressful Christmas morning. Instead, we adjust as we go along (see the final step for more on this).

4. Make it Fun

It was in a Garden of Delight (“Eden”) that God first created Sabbath.

So ask yourself: How do I delight outside of my work?

Again, answers to this question are as unique as we are. Make a list of all the ways you find joy and delight.

Here are a few things on my list of delightful things:
Good coffee
Sleeping in
Family and friends
New fold
Being outdoors

When you come up with a full list of the ways you delight outside of your work, I hope it’s a very full list.

Now take that list and you’ve got a menu of options for how to spend your Sabbath!

Don’t try to do all of them in one day (that would probably be overwhelming). Instead, pick and choose. This is what I’ve heard Jefferson Bethke call “pleasure-stacking.” Take the things that bring you pleasure, stack them into a day, and call that day “Sabbath.”

It really can be that simple.

5. Adjust

Finally, adjust as you go along.

After a stressful some time back Christmas Day, my wife and I sat down and said, “How did that go? What do we want to do again next year? What do we want to change?” And then, we adjusted how we celebrated Christmas going forward.

We get to do the same thing with Sabbath except we get to adjust and improve that holy day every single week.

After you try out the Sabbath, go through the three-step process of RAD:
Reflect (Did I delight with and in God?)
Adjust (If not, what can I change?)
Do (Implement that change)

And then, check in with those you are Sabbathing for. Many years ago, my wife told me that the best thing she thinks we’ve ever done for our marriage is keep the Sabbath. That was motivation enough for me to keep trying to lean into the ways God is inviting me into His holy day of rest.

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Whether you’re seeking to begin or grow in your Sabbath, let me pray over you:

Most Gracious God, You have given us a day of rest each week to delight in and with You. Help us to do that. We need Your rest. Give us courage to step into the vulnerability of rest, grace to adjust as needed, and peace knowing that You hold all things in Your hand. In the name of the One who is Sabbath Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

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If you’re interested in reading more about Sabbath-keeping and rest, check out some of my other blog posts on the topic!

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