I think the Church in the states is terrible at some spiritual disciplines – I am guilty of it and honestly probably would’ve never practiced any of them had it not been for the race. Spiritual disciplines are important – we learned how important they were at training camp. We learned the importance of life giving confessions, how solitude and silence with the Lord can transform your life, how reflection and study can be incredibly helpful, the importance of having a secret place with the Lord and sacrificing for Him, service and submission – the value that our yes holds, how different worship can look, fasting and frugality and the fruit that it yields, and how Sabbath is a day to delight, abide, and rest in the Lord.
During our debrief in Guatemala our mentor came on the field and gave a teaching one morning on Sabbath. She asked how Sabbath was going for everyone – I replied out loud “I suck at it” – people agreed. It is so hard to take a day and just delight, abide, and rest in the Lord. If you are a productive person – it may seem like you are wasting the day and not doing things that need to be done. If you are an extrovert it might seem as if you can’t hangout with your friends. Sabbath looks very different for a lot of people, and also very similar. As a person who thrives on efficiency I struggled for the first couple of months on the field in practicing this spiritual discipline.
Sabbath is a spiritual discipline that we practice once a week on the field. I am so incredibly thankful that this is something AIM requires of us – I know it has changed many of our perspectives on taking a day of rest, and taking a break from our work to delight in the Lord.
Where is Sabbath in the Bible? Genesis 1 & 2 – after the Lord created all the heavens and earth and everything it held, he said “it is very good.” The next day the Lord rested and delighted in what the first six days held. The 10 Commandments – remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy. Oh my – do we take this out of context. We think of Sunday as this day to just not work and we use it as an excuse instead of as a day to practice delighting in the Lord.
What is Sabbath? A 24 hour period where you stop working, paid and unpaid work. You should ponder the love of God, this should be the focus of Sabbath. You enjoy rest and delighting in the Lord. You contemplate God. You can be in community, or solitude. You can run, or read. You can listen to music and eat good food. You can play games and spend time outside. There is an endless list of what Sabbath is.
What does my Sabbath look like on the field? I am excited each week to Sabbath. It refocuses my mind on what is important – the love of Christ. I am reminded of His love in many ways on my Sabbath. I am reminded of His love by the Word, through community, by having fun with my friends, through listening to sermons, and by sitting in solitude with the Lord.
At the end of the day practicing spiritual disciplines is IMPORTANT. John Mark Comer and Tyler Staton are both incredible at discussing some spiritual disciplines. John Mark Comer has a book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry where he talks about sabbath – I could not recommend it more. Here is a link to a sermon he does on the topic. Tyler Staton has a 6 series podcast where he talks about sitting in solitude with the Lord – one of the best. Here is the link to Tyler’s podcast.
Love well,
AP
