Isaiah 58: 13-14a
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the Lord…”
Hebrews 10: 24-25
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
A study from the 1970s proposed that it takes 21 days to form a habit and just 3 days to lose it. A more recent study from 2009, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, offers a different view: it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit. The study also concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.
The habit of attending church was established in our family over 50 years ago, so it has become part of our weekly schedule. However, there are some Sundays that I just don’t have it in me to attend church. Even with decades of faithful attendance, some Sunday mornings, after the alarm goes off, I question if I can do it. Occasional sleepless nights, and more recently, severe neck pain, have prevented me from being able to go, and I know God does not condemn me for it. But, also on occasion, there are times when there is a battle of the mind that tempts me to stay curled up in my cozy bed. After years of recognizing the evil one’s attempts to keep me from attending church, I pray for God to change my heart, I get up, arm myself with a strong cup of caffeine, and prepare for another day of honoring the Sabbath. And, without fail, I always come home with a heart of gratitude for having gone.
Do we need to “practice” observing the Sabbath—practice in becoming more intentional and more disciplined? Yes, we do! Each Sunday of the fifty-plus years of being a Christian has offered me just that, more practice in the habit of being faithful in honoring the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of rest from the six days of work for all who are weary and burdened. Jesus is calling us to lay down our weariness and burdens and to seek spiritual rest that can only be found in Him. We then put the habit into practice and follow through by setting aside our Sundays.
The rewards for forming this practice are waiting for us each Sunday. Walking through the church doors, the Lord welcomes me with His Spirit shining through the smiling faces of the greeters, friends wrapping me with warm hugs, and others offering encouraging words. He meets me there through the worship music, His Word, and the teaching from the pulpit. One Sunday, my heart was deeply touched by an elderly gentleman standing behind me who, despite his dementia, enthusiastically sang “Amazing Grace” with the voice of an aged angel. The Lord has guided me in seeking out new folks to welcome and answer questions they might have. He has reminded me to look for a particular person who had a tough week and needed encouragement. He set up a chance encounter with a recently widowed woman—someone I had not met before—to share how much we appreciated her husband’s faith and diligent work in our home. God had a purpose for my being there one Sunday to hear strong words of truth and wisdom that convicted me of an attitude change I needed to make towards someone.
Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, came to bring us freedom from “having to” and fills us with “wanting to,” including practicing the Sabbath. We are no longer bound by the legalism of the Law; we are set free to honor the Sabbath with the practices of worship, prayer, and fellowship. And then, when we come home, we can embrace the joy of continued rest, play, and family time that await us.
Lord of the Sabbath, we thank You for instituting one day in the week for rest, dedicated to honoring You and restoring our bodies and spirits to meet a new week. We ask You to speak to our hearts about the importance, blessings, and rewards of corporate worship. Instill in us the commitment to form the habit of observing the Sabbath and practicing it faithfully. We do this to honor and glorify You, and we pray in Your Son’s name. Amen.
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