I’ve mistakenly equated the fourth commandment with God’s index finger wagging in front of my face. Instead, his stance on Sabbath is arms wide open and waiting for me to run into his embrace. Sabbath is a personal epistle from Jesus with news about your life. Sabbath is an invitation for intimate conversation. It is an intentional quieting, transforming information into tangible experience, into words and sentences that harness our purpose and calling. Rest provides fine-tuning for hearing God’s messages amidst the static of life. Passing on the messages he sends for others without distorting the meaning can sometimes prove to be risky. Sabbath-keeping provides good practice in discernment.
Shelly Miller is a veteran ministry leader, blogger, and the author of Rhythms of Rest. She leads the Sabbath Society, an online community. Excerpts are from Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World by Shelly Miller. Used by permission of Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2016.
