Embracing the Holistic Benefits of Sabbath Rhythms

Sabbath rhythms are more than just benefits; they are blessings. I cannot place fully into words just how much of a blessing it has been to embrace Sabbath rhythms. What I can say is, my family’s life has been enriched, not just our lives, but those around us. I do not take it casually that God has placed us in a thriving community. We have been blessed to do life with people that value what God values. Something about this season of our lives has blessed our lives in ways that I would have never imagined. And I believe Sabbath rhythms is a central part of that. Sabbath has not become a natural part of who we are, and in short, a part of those we invite to live life alongside us.

Sabbath Should Affect Every Part of Life

It is very common for the Western world to live in compartmentalized ways of life. We separate our home life from our work life. We keep our work friends from our non-work friends. We portion out of life so that certain parts do not bleed like ink from a broken pen, into other parts of our lives. But the truth is, we were not designed to live like that. Sure, we want boundaries in our lives, but what most people create are walls of separation because sometimes it is too hard to deal with otherwise.

The Bible teaches us something quite different about how life works. In teaching to the religious leaders, Jesus gave them a great awakening. He preached to them that,

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34b). 

In other words, whatever is in our hearts flows out of our mouths and into our lives. No matter how hard we try, we cannot wall off what we truly live by. What we establish our life on is what affects every part of who we are. Now, consider Sabbath rhythms. If we choose to live our lives with Sabbath rhythms, it will flow into every area of our lives, our relationships, our workplace, and even into our value systems.

Sabbath Effects On Our Whole Being

I used to feel pretty proud of my expertise in managing my life. And do not get me started on how good I was at multi-tasking and compartmentalizing. When I began embracing Sabbath rhythms, my ability and desire to do those things slowly began to unravel. On the one hand, multitasking is the opposite of being present and restful. At times, it can happen so subconsciously that we do not realize we are doing it. But not only do we lose time and productivity when we do, but we increase our stress.[1] On the other hand, compartmentalizing gives us what is necessary at times to manage difficult situations. But, in everyday life, it can act as a defense mechanism to keep us from processing what is necessary to function healthily and holistically.[2] Sabbath rhythms almost immediately reveal how disconnected we often are from a holistic lifestyle.  It exposes how we are trying to survive the stress of life (which we created in our image), instead of living healthily and holistically. Sabbath rhythms are good. They transform us from the inside out in such a way that they saturate the world around us with God’s bountiful rest.

The Body

Most research on Sabbath-keeping has been within a community of people who practice it for religious or cultural reasons. However, even in studies where it was not the norm, many benefits arose because it was designed to be transformational for all who chose to partake. Sabbath-keeping is not just a good idea for Christians. God created it for all of humanity! In a recent study performed by Barbara Speedling, the results of her study revealed that Sabbath-keeping had 6 specific benefits: (1) an increase in self-awareness, (2) an improved view of self-care, (3) more enriching relationships, (4) a productive growing spirituality, (5) benefited the rest of their weeks, and (6) and an increased evolution of Sabbath-keeping practices and philosophies.[3] Although Sabbath-keeping requires practice and preparation, the participants in her study revealed that our bodies benefit from the gift that Sabbath offers to us as our lives begin to reflect God’s intentions toward his creation. Ultimately, our bodies, minds, and spirits are healthier when we keep a Sabbath. Barbara goes on to reflect on how the Sabbath goes beyond us and even affects the creation around us. In her view, creation depends on our willingness to embrace the gift that compels us to value not just ourselves, but all that God created with his hands.[4]

Creation

Laura Hartman, in her article on the Sabbath, describes it as a spiritual and environmental practice, as it acts as an exercise of conscious living that reorients the self.[5] It functions as such because it shifts our focus solely from ourselves to an awareness and appreciation of non-human nature.[6] When we keep the Sabbath, we come into agreement with what God believes about creation, that it is good and must be stewarded wisely. It is very clear in Scripture that God created us to do more than live in creation but to have dominion over it as those who tend it and care for it (Genesis 1:26-28). When we keep the Sabbath, our views about nature begin to align with God’s and we become wiser about how we steward what he has generously blessed us with.

How Can I Create Sabbath Rhythms in My Life?

When we began keeping a Sabbath as a family, this was such a big question. It felt almost intimidating to start. There are so many viewpoints on Sabbath-keeping that it can be difficult to determine which is the “right” way. But as I shared, “right” is not the goal, intentionality is. However, I will say, that there is a “wrong” way to keep the Sabbath; keeping the Sabbath to appease God or attempt to look righteous. We cannot earn God’s grace any more than a zebra can avoid getting stripes. He is not asking us to make ourselves right in his eyes. We could not do that if we tried. What God does; is he invites us to be with him. To search out the beauty he has waiting. The beauty that unravels our attachments to things other than him. In my next post, I will share some amazing resources that have helped me in finding my way concerning developing Sabbath rhythms. But most importantly, I encourage you to sit with Jesus. To allow him to reveal the gift he has waiting for you and your family. There is so much fruit awaiting you there in the place where you meet with him face-to-face. Then, read, listen, and process. Allow God to connect you to resources that can help you to develop Sabbath rhythms in your life.

~Natasha

Notes:

[1] Carey Lohrenz, “The Shocking Truth About Multitasking In The Age Of Distraction, Forbes, June 15, 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbooksauthors/2021/06/15/multitasking-in-the-age-of-distraction/?sh=4862780f4918.

[2] Sarah Regan, “What Is Compartmentalization & Why Do People Do It?,” Mind Body Green, December 23, 2022, https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/compartmentalization.

[3] Barbara Baker Speedling, "Celebrating Sabbath as a Holistic Health Practice: The Transformative Power of a Sanctuary in Time," Journal of Religion and Health 58, no. 4 (08, 2019): 1398, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/celebrating-sabbath-as-holistic-health-practice/docview/2206827867/se-2.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Laura Hartman, “Christian Sabbath-Keeping as a Spiritual and Environmental Practice,” Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, Ecology. 15, no. 1 (2011): 50, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43799349.

[6] Ibid.