Moorings – Anchor for the SoulSample

Cultivating Spiritual Rhythms

We live busy lives. On top of work commitments, we have family, social and church commitments throughout the week. Even our Sundays could be filled with church activities that leave us more exhausted at the end of our Sabbath, which is meant to be our rest day. We begin our workweek on Monday, worn out and needing rest and refueling, only to find ourselves caught up in the same cycle again.

Rhythms of work and rest are fundamental of our well-being. In His earthly ministry, Jesus would pull the disciples away, saying, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Jesus was concerned with helping the disciples establish a rhythm of work and rest that would sustain them in their ministry.

When we do not get sufficient rest, our physical, emotional and spiritual tanks are depleted. We lose our attentiveness to God and things can spiral out of control. On the other hand, when our tanks are filled, our hearts will be rested and ready to engage with God.

Here are a couple of ways to cultivate spiritual rhythms in our lives:

• Keep the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a required observance in the Old Testament, and God’s idea of ensuring a balance of work and rest for His people. It honors the body’s need for rest, the spirit’s need for replenishment and the soul’s need to delight in God. It is a time to cease from work, contemplate life, celebrate God and connect with loved ones. Engaged in life-giving activities such as taking a much-needed nap, going to the park or picking up a hobby. If your Sundays are crowded with commitments, pick another day in the week to keep your Sabbath.

• Make room for extended time with the Lord. Often times, our daily quiet time is hurriedly spent with grab-a-verse-and-go mentality. Do make it a priority each week to spend extended time with our Lord. This creates time and space to reflect and process events in our lives, catch up on reading God’s Word, write journal entries and declutter muddled thoughts. Energy that comes from being rested is very different from energy that comes from being driven.

If we want to stay connected with God, we must cultivate rhythms of rest and work. These rhythms not only give us the rest from work, but also to work from our rest.

Mooring:
• What areas in your schedule do you need to reprioritize in order to cultivate spiritual rhythms of rest and work?