The Importance of Slowing Down

We live in a fast-paced world—constantly plugged in, distracted, and overwhelmed. There never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done. From running the kids around to getting to work to dealing with financial or family problems—we are burning the candle at both ends and burning out. 

What we need to realize is that if we don’t slow down and fill up our tanks, we’ll find ourselves broken down on the side of the road. You might think the answer is a couple of days off or a vacation, but what most of us really need is an entirely new rhythm of rest. 

Rhythm is all around us, from the ticking of the clock to the waves of the ocean. We even see rhythms in our body—the beating of our hearts and our lungs filling with air. If rhythm is vital to our physical health, how much more to our spiritual health?

Leviticus 25:4 says, “But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD.” This tells us that God values rest so much that He even wanted the dirt to have a break. Everything God created needs rest and restoration. When we violate this principle of rhythm long enough, we pay the price in our body, soul, emotions, and relationships. Lance Witt says it this way, “You can’t live at warp speed without it warping your soul.”

In Genesis 2:3, God created the earth, blessed the seventh day of rest and called it holy. The first thing God called holy wasn’t a person or a place, but a period of sacred time that was set aside for rest. God didn’t rest on the seventh day because He was burnt out or exhausted. God was modeling something He wanted us to replicate. A day of rest—or the Sabbath—is the only Spiritual habit mentioned in the ten commandments.

Here are three elements to include in your Sabbath: 

Sabbath Means Stop

For one day, God invites you to stop producing, stop striving, and stop achieving. Give yourself permission to stop. We’ve been trained that we can’t let up, but Sabbath trains us to trust God.

Sabbath Is Rest

Before the invention of the light bulb, people slept eleven hours per night. Don’t hesitate to take a nap on your day off—or whatever fuels your tank. If all you do is give out and never fill back up, you won’t have anything more to give out. 

Sabbath is Worship

Worship isn’t confined to the four walls of the church. Take the Scriptures and songs with you to meditate on. Distance yourself from the world and work and take time to draw closer to God. 

Questions for Reflection: 

• What am I currently not doing, that if I started, would create healthy spiritual rhythms in my life? 
• What can I eliminate that would leave more space for healthy spiritual rhythms?