Sabbath
Since moving to Thailand, we have struggled to find a dedicated Sabbath time and honestly, while we practiced a Sunday sabbath before, we did not really set that day apart in any kind of profound way.
In Exodus, we read about how God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After bringing them out of captivity, He parted the Red Sea, rained down manna from heaven, and sprang water from a rock and still they felt fearful, insecure, anxious- they even longed for enslavement. We can read that and see how absurd it sounds but, if we are being honest, don't we do the same thing?
We are frail human beings and life in the desert is not easy. So when God provides manna, we don't just feast, enjoy, and give thanks. We try to get ahead, to regain control, and become self-sufficient- knowing hunger will come again.
Sabbath is more than a command to cease work. Sabbath is an invitation into a spontaneous-belly laugh-kind of delight. The kind of delight we were created for. It seems as though God saw that the Israelites were struggling to walk in the freedom they were created for and rescued into so He commanded them to set apart a day to remember. "We need a taste of Eden to be able to continue engaging in the issues of a fallen world and our own fallen heart...A taste of what we are meant to know today and yet we will one day know in fullness" (Dan Allender, Sabbath, Explained by The Allender Center on February 5, 2021).
Sometimes delight can feel indulgent and dismissive of reality. When we are acutely aware of the pain around us is it ok to laugh and play? When there is so much to do can we really cease our work and spend time just engaging in delight? We are learning that we not only can but we must. Practicing Sabbath stands in defiance of injustice, fear, greed, power, pride, and perfectionism. It is staring evil in the face and taking hold of the joy we were created for. To dance, to create, to rest, and to play so that we can remind the darkness, and ourselves that we were created for more.
About the Author: Jamie is serving in Thailand with her husband and two children. She is passionate about working to create pathways that both prevent women from entering the sex trade and provide a way out so that they can discover the hope and healing that is found in Jesus. She earned her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary in 2016 and has been working as a professional counselor since then.
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