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Holy Rest

God took a break from laboring. In his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Peter Scazzero distinguishes a "day off" from a "Sabbath" this way: "A day off is often used to replenish our energies and make us more effective on the other six days in a week." Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word sabat, meaning to "stop, cease, or keep," but it means more than to stop working.

Scazzero gives four elements of a biblically based sabbath:

• Stop: Stopping (yes, even if your to-do list is still yelling at you) is one way you embrace your God-given limits.
• Rest: Do what replenishes you instead of working and accomplishing things.
• Delight: After finishing his work, God said, "It was very good." He took time to delight in all He had created.
• Contemplate: Take time to think about God in detail.

Question: Do you take a Sabbath? If so, what does it look like? If not, why not?

Prayer: Take a moment and ask God what his invitation toward rest (taking a break from regular life activities) might look like in your context.