A sermon yesterday raised an interesting question: What if we could somehow go without sleep? Remove our need for physical rest and just . . . go? All the time? Nonstop? All those times we think there just aren't enough hours in the day would be eliminated, we would never have to put our to-do lists on hold, and our lives could be constant, maximum productivity, every hour of every single day.
Yikes.
Obviously that's a pure fantasy, not only because it's scientifically impossible, but because God designed us to need rest. Without it we burn out, break down, fall apart, and I'm not only talking about the physical. Spiritual rest is every bit as important: time dedicated to God to recharge, revitalize, and refocus on what really matters.
Since starting high school, work, and the publishing adventure, I've found myself appreciating the Sabbath day, Sunday, with more and more depth than before. When I imagined removing Sunday from the week, like removing sleep from the 24-hour clock, I was literally frightened by the prospect of a life without any breaks, any rest. Sunday is my anchor, my deep breath of air, my bubble of quiet that nothing from the other six days of the week is allowed to break. I made the decision a while ago not to do any blogging or marketing on that day, and difficult as it can be to set things aside, I know that I desperately need that time to focus entirely on God.
The world we live in is a non-stop world, and setting aside a day of rest is something some people may not understand. But God designed us with a certain rhythm, an internal clock that tells us that we need to stop and rest, and He gave us a blessing when He created Sunday—a day to remember, keep holy, and protect.
Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord's holy day. ~Isaiah 58:13a
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