The Sabbath is designed this way. It offers us a clean start…and we need it. Our bodies were not
designed to run 24/7. We run out of everything: energy, patience, kindness and compassion, vision… I
was at this point, and I don’t mind saying it. Saying I was out of resources isn’t wrong. It’s human. I
needed a reset. The goal was not to vacate, although we did some of that. My goal was fourfold: rest,
read, pray and exercise. I set Herculean standards, with the goal of coming back with the energy and
drive of a 25-year\-old. I quickly learned, that wasn’t possible or needed. But I did need work in all four
areas. It took a while to clean out my mind and heart, but when that happened, good work occurred in
all four areas.

I’m writing this on my first day back in the office. I feel like I have a buffer around my emotions, whereas
before, I was raw. I feel stronger. Before, I was constantly weary. I’d let my appetite run away with me,
but now I am healthier. Exercise was on my radar whenever work was not, which was almost never.
Now, I am aware of my body’s need to exercise as a way to maintain mental and physical health. The
last five weeks weren’t by any stretch magical for me, but they were supernatural.

Psalm 27.8 says, “You have said, ‘Come meet with me.’ My heart says to you, ‘I am coming.’” This
became my daily routine. You might ask, “Weren’t you meeting with the Lord before?” And the answer
is wholeheartedly “Yes!” But my time with the Lord was almost always focused on work. When I read, I
was always thinking about the next sermon or the next teaching time. It was hard to break out of that
rut. When no teaching or preaching was on the schedule, it became normal for God to feed me. I could
digest it with no intentions of letting it go anytime soon. What a beautiful thing it is to wait on the Lord!

I realize you may be in a place where a year of Jubilee is something you can only laugh at. But I can
promise you, the Sabbath is something you need to take seriously. You and I need this desperately.
Without it, we become more and more infatuated with ourselves. Our world is in a very self-focused
place. We all think our ideas are the best, our patterns are the norm, our choices are acceptable. The
longer and harder we push, the more our feet are set in this self-driven concrete. And the farther we get
from each other.

Amongst those who know Him, Jesus is a Uniter. He breaks what is set in stone for us and softens our
rough edges. He introduces new desires that are stronger than the things that keep us a part. Hope
comes from a place of togetherness, particularly that future place when we are in white robes and
gathered around the throne. The fruit we’ll enjoy there is born in a pattern of work and rest here. Will
you trust God enough to back away one day a week? Is He your Provider, or isn’t He? Will you trust God
enough to rest in Him and leave your constant struggle behind? The most beautiful thing about the
Sabbath is we get to meet with our Maker in fresh ways. I can’t encourage you enough to “Come meet
with Him.” I promise, you’ll be glad you did.