My husband and our two kids he’d hauled with him pulled in late in the evening from out of town. They’d left me at home for a blissful four whole days, people.  

Later that night, I remarked to him, “I forget I can be this kind of person when I’m rested. I forget that person’s in there.” 

To take those days off, I’d had to say no to four ministry opportunities. Each one felt mildly like yanking out my own eyeball.  

But I had to say the right noes to say the right yeses. I started thinking, Is it possible saying “no” should be a spiritual discipline? 

I found in Africa that practicing Sabbath requires deep self-knowledge. There are activities that don’t really replenish us (even if doing nothing), restful activities, and rejuvenating activities. Those differ for every person. My husband rejuvenates with sports; rests with good movie. Movies, for me, are often idle; sports and working out will never (ever.) be restful. My mom loves hosting, which I find rejuvenating on a weeknight, but not restful for a Sunday. 

I feel such rich connection with God in my work. But God also connects himself with rest. 

His day was the day he rested. When he first tells the Israelites about the Sabbath? He says in effect, You used to be slaves. You’re not anymore. You can take a day off. So celebrate the fact that I worked this crazy miracle among you.

It’s a precursor for Jesus’ work saying, My work is enough. You’re not a slave to sin anymore. You don’t work for God’s approval. In Sabbath, God superglues rest…to grace. 

Mark Buchanan elaborates, “In some ways, the whole point of the Exodus was Sabbath. ‘Let my people go,’ became God’s rallying cry, ‘that they might worship me.’ At the heart of liberty—of being let go—is worship. But at the heart of worship is rest—a stopping from all work, all worry, all scheming, all fleeing—to stand amazed and thankful before God and his work. There can be no real worship without true rest.”

Like God himself, his rest breathes life and authentic worship into us. Wanna say the right noes with me?