Transcript

You’re listening to Sabbath Cafe Podcast. This is Episode 131, What Sabbaths Means to Me.

Hi, everyone! Thank you for listening to the Sabbath Cafe Podcast. This is Michele. This week, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving here in the States. And I just want to take this time to say a quick thank you for listening to us. You are a great encouragement to me, and I’m so grateful. Thank you.

So recently, I met up with a friend who found my podcast. Since he has a break right now, he jokingly mentioned that he just may take a Sabbath break. And I realized I never did an episode on the Sabbath. Maybe this is a good time to start this conversation. And so here are my thoughts.

And I’ve been thinking about this idea for a long time also because it’s such a counter-cultural idea. Because the Sabbath rest quintessentially is to stop doing.

If you ever are curious about the idea of Sabbath and what it is, it’s just about stop doing work and becoming who you are and stop striving. I think that makes a lot of people very uncomfortable. Because they assume that what it means is that we are not doing anything at all. That being passive or that having a Sabbath time is being passive.

But what I realize is that when I’m doing something or when I’m moving because of people’s expectation, it pushes me to a place where I’m reacting. And more often than not, I’m reacting. And when I’m reacting, I’m not getting God’s guidance. I’m not able to sense the Holy Spirit’s recommendations or insights. And that just brings us back to the story of Mary and Martha.

In the New Testament, there are two sisters. These are Jesus’ contemporaries. So they’re actually real people in biblical times. And there’s one section where Jesus went to Mary and Martha’s house.

I think both Mary and Martha really loved and just think it’s such a great honor that Jesus stopped at their house. But both of them responded very differently.

So when you look in scripture, it says that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to everything he’s saying. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

And Martha was, of course, kind of overwhelmed. So she said,

“Jesus? Why are you not telling Mary to help me? Don’t you care that I’m left to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me.”

And Jesus said,

“Martha, you’re worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is necessary. And Mary has chosen what is better and will not be taken away from her.”

I think I am so much like a Martha. Oftentimes, I find myself in a situation. My first reaction is, what is the situation? What can I do to manage it? I would jump on it and do all this stuff.

But I think what God is saying is to remind me that I’m no longer alone, right? God is not expecting me to do the work by myself anymore. And God is wanting me to learn Mary’s heart, to remember that to sit with Jesus is better.

And that in itself, I think, is the essence of Sabbath.

The other day, I decided to have a day where I’m not worrying about all the situations in my life. I decided that if anything came up, I was going to just give it to God. I’m going to remember to not be anxious about anything but in everything, present my request to God.

Just some of these things where I’m not fixated on things that I currently have no control over and that I just have to wait. And so instead of being fixated about these things, God’s just been reminding me to give thanks and to think about the things that are true and really just to bring my thoughts back to Him.

And that really, I think, has just been such a great breakthrough. Because the rhythm of what I’ve been doing is, like I said, it’s been a really busy season. And so a lot of what I’ve been doing is planning, hosting some families, I had to plan a lot of events.

I just really felt like my whole being, I’ve been just going from one task to another to another. And I felt like I was so busy that I couldn’t stop. That when I stopped doing-when I decided I’m going to put the tasks away- instead of feeling peace, I felt even more anxious.

And I realized that doing these tasks, finishing these tasks, had become a runaway train in that sense. I’m trying to keep myself busy to distract myself from a deeper sense of frustration.

Sure, I can continue to keep this lifestyle going, this rhythm going with all of these excuses. Oh, you know, these are really important. I need to take care of my parents. I need to be praying and I need to help do whatever.

These are all just excuses to keep me going for that next high. And I know that if I’m honest with myself, I know that’s what I’m doing.

And so that’s when God sort of gently tapped me on the shoulder and just kind of go, let’s take a break and get focused on him.

And even as I’m recording this right now, I think that tendency to strive is still there.

And I have to remind myself to just in my heart to kind of go back to that place… of just being with God and just resting in Him and not worrying about how this podcast is going to turn out.

And it’s not, I think maybe it’s not that we don’t do things, but it’s really our attitude.

In our heart and minds, are we turned towards God or are we distracted and overwhelmed by the busyness and the needs that surround us?

Something amazing happens when I turn away from the works of my hands and start to turn my focus back onto Jesus. Usually, there is a reset and a realignment.

My thoughts and perspectives can realign with God’s perspective. Instead of focusing on the situations, my thoughts can now be shifted back onto Jesus.

Instead of replaying the negative outcomes in my mind, I start to remember how God has been faithful through the journey and His promises start to come back to me.

And over the years, I have learned that God really knows best. As my heart starts to let go of the burdens and the worries that I’ve been carrying, the peace of Jesus now starts to flood my soul.

And I can sense God’s kindness and peace in that stillness again. And then I remember what Sabbath is all about. That Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

God is spirit, but we are still made of flesh. And through the practice of Sabbath, it helps me to reconnect with God in my spirit even as I go through my day-to-day routines in this very real material world.

So no matter what kind of season you are in, I’d like to invite you to take a Sabbath break with me. It can be a quiet morning or a few hours in an afternoon. Set your to-do list aside and just spend some time focusing on Jesus. It may just be the recharging break that you are looking for.

And that’s the podcast for this week.

Thank you so much for listening to the Sabbath Cafe podcast.

For transcripts and more, please visit sabbathcafe.substack.com or sabbathcafeblog.com.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time.