Is This What “Rest” Looks Like?
If I can just get through this stage, this phase, this season, then it will be ok. But what if the “then” never comes? Because the moment one thing finishes, another takes its place. It’s not that we don’t want to rest, it’s that we feel like we can’t. What makes this hard for us isn’t theology, it’s reality.
Our lives are so busy, with so many things to do. And it’s not just the responsibilities and activities that keep us from rest, because most of us get a vacation. But even when we do stop, we don’t actually rest. Our bodies might slow down, but our minds don’t. Our souls don’t.
This goes deeper than having busy schedules because the issue isn’t just that we have a lot to do, it’s that we don’t know how to stop anymore. We are a society of driven people, and there is something good in that. But we just keep going. Not because we have to but because something inside of us tells us we can’t stop yet.
Eventually, you have to ask, “Where’s that coming from?”
When Israel came out of Egypt, they were physically free, but internally, they still thought like slaves. We are similar. Even though no one is standing over us with a whip, a lot of us still live as if everything depends on us. We are terrified that if we stop, everything will fall apart.
Sabbath confronts this. Sabbath confronts the belief that value comes from output, the need to control everything, and the fear that everything depends on you.
Our lives are so busy, with so many things to do. And it’s not just the responsibilities and activities that keep us from rest, because most of us get a vacation. But even when we do stop, we don’t actually rest. Our bodies might slow down, but our minds don’t. Our souls don’t.
This goes deeper than having busy schedules because the issue isn’t just that we have a lot to do, it’s that we don’t know how to stop anymore. We are a society of driven people, and there is something good in that. But we just keep going. Not because we have to but because something inside of us tells us we can’t stop yet.
Eventually, you have to ask, “Where’s that coming from?”
When Israel came out of Egypt, they were physically free, but internally, they still thought like slaves. We are similar. Even though no one is standing over us with a whip, a lot of us still live as if everything depends on us. We are terrified that if we stop, everything will fall apart.
Sabbath confronts this. Sabbath confronts the belief that value comes from output, the need to control everything, and the fear that everything depends on you.
If you can't stop, you're not free.
Because slaves can’t stop. This is because when Scripture talks about rest, it’s not talking about finally collapsing because you got everything done.
Biblical rest is choosing to stop before you’re finished and trusting God with what’s left undone.
This is why Sabbath is so hard. There’s always more you could do. If rest only comes when everything is finished, then none of us will ever rest. But the Sabbath is God’s invitation into a different way of living.
Sabbath Gives Life
At the end of Exodus 16, God is speaking to the people, and He’s not coming up with something new, He’s calling back something that’s been there from the beginning.
Genesis 2
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
God rests, not because He’s tired, but because He’s setting a rhythm. When God does something, there’s always a why. He blessed it and made it holy. Is there anything else in the creation story that God blessed?
Genesis 1
22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
When God creates life, He blesses it. The interesting thing here is that God blesses something that isn’t a thing – it’s not an animal or a person, it’s a day. God blesses time. That means there’s a part of your week that God has designed to be blessed or set apart – holy. It’s not like the others. It’s different. How? It’s meant to give life.
Sabbath is Trust in Action
In Exodus 16, God gives a command to the children of Israel.
Exodus 16
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
On the sixth day, they are to get twice as much.
Why?
Because on the seventh day, there won’t be any manna. No gathering. Just rest. This is how God works. He provided for them before He commanded them to trust Him. He’s made provision for the command because He’s given them double. Now they need to live it out.
Sabbath Gives Life
At the end of Exodus 16, God is speaking to the people, and He’s not coming up with something new, He’s calling back something that’s been there from the beginning.
Genesis 2
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
God rests, not because He’s tired, but because He’s setting a rhythm. When God does something, there’s always a why. He blessed it and made it holy. Is there anything else in the creation story that God blessed?
Genesis 1
22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
When God creates life, He blesses it. The interesting thing here is that God blesses something that isn’t a thing – it’s not an animal or a person, it’s a day. God blesses time. That means there’s a part of your week that God has designed to be blessed or set apart – holy. It’s not like the others. It’s different. How? It’s meant to give life.
Sabbath is Trust in Action
In Exodus 16, God gives a command to the children of Israel.
Exodus 16
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
On the sixth day, they are to get twice as much.
Why?
Because on the seventh day, there won’t be any manna. No gathering. Just rest. This is how God works. He provided for them before He commanded them to trust Him. He’s made provision for the command because He’s given them double. Now they need to live it out.
Sabbath is how we live out the belief that God’s provision is enough.
It’s our trust in God put into action. Sometimes there’s a gap between what we say we believe and what we actually believe. And you can figure out how wide that gap is by how you live, the risk you’re willing to take, and the control you’re willing to surrender.
But faith is always an invitation to live out what we say we believe, and Sabbath highlights this painfully well. God has provided, but now life feels like a constant equation: “Do I have enough time, money, security to actually stop?”
But faith is always an invitation to live out what we say we believe, and Sabbath highlights this painfully well. God has provided, but now life feels like a constant equation: “Do I have enough time, money, security to actually stop?”
Has God provided enough for me to trust Him to rest?
God’s your provider? Great – prove it. You’re not overworking because you’re chasing success. You’re working because you’re trying to survive. Sabbath is not God saying to drop everything and hope for the best. That’s not faith, that’s chaos.
Sabbath is about having a reoriented heart. A heart that recognizes that God has given you everything you need, and so, we put that belief into action by taking time to stop, set a day apart as holy, and rest. It’s a practice in trusting God.
This is exactly where Israel is. God already provided, and now they have to decide if what He’s given them is enough. If what you have isn’t enough, you’ll keep going.
Sabbath is Remembrance
And it’s something we need to be reminded of again and again. But then in Deuteronomy, the context has changed.
Deuteronomy 5
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Because back in Exodus, Sabbath was rooted in creation. Here in Deuteronomy, Sabbath is rooted in liberation. God says, “Remember who you are and remember what I did.” You were slaves! And now? You’re not that anymore.
Slavery doesn’t look like chains anymore.
Societally, exhaustion almost becomes a badge of honor. Even when we’re technically free, internally, we’re still slaves to something.
That’s why Sabbath mattered so much to God. Every time Israel stopped working, they were declaring that Pharaoh didn’t own them anymore, their worth was not based on output, and they trusted God enough to stop.
The Sabbath was never just about physical rest. It was about remembering that we are no longer slaves. You don’t just rest because God created, you rest because God rescued.
Sabbath is about having a reoriented heart. A heart that recognizes that God has given you everything you need, and so, we put that belief into action by taking time to stop, set a day apart as holy, and rest. It’s a practice in trusting God.
This is exactly where Israel is. God already provided, and now they have to decide if what He’s given them is enough. If what you have isn’t enough, you’ll keep going.
Sabbath is Remembrance
And it’s something we need to be reminded of again and again. But then in Deuteronomy, the context has changed.
Deuteronomy 5
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Because back in Exodus, Sabbath was rooted in creation. Here in Deuteronomy, Sabbath is rooted in liberation. God says, “Remember who you are and remember what I did.” You were slaves! And now? You’re not that anymore.
Slavery doesn’t look like chains anymore.
Societally, exhaustion almost becomes a badge of honor. Even when we’re technically free, internally, we’re still slaves to something.
- Achievement
- Expectations
- Comparison
- Anxiety
- Pressure
That’s why Sabbath mattered so much to God. Every time Israel stopped working, they were declaring that Pharaoh didn’t own them anymore, their worth was not based on output, and they trusted God enough to stop.
The Sabbath was never just about physical rest. It was about remembering that we are no longer slaves. You don’t just rest because God created, you rest because God rescued.
Where are you still living like a slave?
What is driving your life right now? Maybe the reason Sabbath feels so uncomfortable is because stopping exposes what’s actually controlling us.
God is inviting us into freedom, which means that somewhere in our lives, we need a rhythm that physically declares, “I’m not a slave anymore.”
Start small, intentional, and don’t overcomplicate this. Pick a block of time, and during that time of Sabbath rest and remember.
Sabbath is Resting & Remembering
Stop working, stop producing, stop trying to get ahead. Not because everything is done, but because you’re trusting God with what isn’t. You don’t need a perfect Sabbath formula. You need a moment where your soul relearns.
Remember that God is the provider, not you. God is sustaining your life, not just your effort. God rescued you, and it is enough.
The worst thing we could do with a message like this is turn Sabbath into another achievement, another thing to master, or another thing to do. That misses the point entirely. Sabbath becomes a declaration that you belong to God now and you’re not a slave anymore.
And because you are free, you can stop.
God is inviting us into freedom, which means that somewhere in our lives, we need a rhythm that physically declares, “I’m not a slave anymore.”
Start small, intentional, and don’t overcomplicate this. Pick a block of time, and during that time of Sabbath rest and remember.
Sabbath is Resting & Remembering
Stop working, stop producing, stop trying to get ahead. Not because everything is done, but because you’re trusting God with what isn’t. You don’t need a perfect Sabbath formula. You need a moment where your soul relearns.
Remember that God is the provider, not you. God is sustaining your life, not just your effort. God rescued you, and it is enough.
The worst thing we could do with a message like this is turn Sabbath into another achievement, another thing to master, or another thing to do. That misses the point entirely. Sabbath becomes a declaration that you belong to God now and you’re not a slave anymore.
And because you are free, you can stop.
Posted in Book of Exodus, Sabbath
Posted in Christian Blog, Christian Church New Jersey, Christian Church NJ, Chatham New Jersey, Pastor Joey Monteleone, Pastor Joey Monteleone LHC, LHCNJ, Book of Exodus, LHC Becoming the People, Embracing the Way of Jesus and the Word of God, Living it out in Ourselves and Our Families, Transforming the World Beyond Our Walls, Sabbath
Posted in Christian Blog, Christian Church New Jersey, Christian Church NJ, Chatham New Jersey, Pastor Joey Monteleone, Pastor Joey Monteleone LHC, LHCNJ, Book of Exodus, LHC Becoming the People, Embracing the Way of Jesus and the Word of God, Living it out in Ourselves and Our Families, Transforming the World Beyond Our Walls, Sabbath
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