The Sabbath and Marriage – Connection Impact

“And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Genesis 2:2 (NKJV).

In the fourth of the ten commandments, as captured in Exodus 20:8-10, God instructs us to keep the Sabbath day holy: “Six days you shall labour and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work…” (NASB).

In our Western culture, we don’t really pay much attention to this command. In fact we’re doing the opposite of what God instructs us to do. We use every opportunity we can to be busy. When someone asks us how we’re doing, our first reaction is often to explain how busy we are, as if it’s an accomplishment. Constantly being busy might be admirable in the eyes of the world, but not in the eyes of the Lord.

As our Creator, God knows best what we need. We are made in His image, and He rested after He had finished His work. Having regular times of rest is woven into our DNA. For us to be the people God made us to be, rest is essential – it’s not a luxury.

However. many people run on empty, not realising that their burnout comes from overworking and overachieving, often to impress people. Yet, as Christians, our main purpose is to please and glorify God. The only way in which we can do this is by obeying His words and instructions.

The Hebrew word for Sabbath means “to cease”, in other words, literally to stop or to quit. This begs the question: what are we stopping?
Simply, our daily work and usual comings and goings. In other words, our focus on the Sabbath should not be on reaching goals and ticking off a to-do list. Our focus should be to rest and enjoy what God has given us so that we can feel rejuvenated.

So, what does this look like in practice? It means that we have to refill the tanks on which our lives and relationships run, of which there are four: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. They work together to enable us to achieve what we need to. To refill these tanks, we must do things differently on the Sabbath to what we do in the week in all four areas. Here are a few examples:

Physical: Go for a walk and simply enjoy the scenery. Try to avoid driving anywhere, unless you have to, in order to get to a peaceful place to walk.
Mental: Watch a movie or read a book.
Emotional: Spend quality time with your loved ones – your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, close friends.
Spiritual: Meditate on God and soak up His presence. To quiet your mind, you can listen to worship music, read Scripture or pray out loud – whatever works for you.

While these are great examples of what you can do as an individual, what about having Sabbath as a couple?

In the context of marriage, the Sabbath offers a wonderful opportunity to grow in your relationship and focus on the present. To get in the right mindset, it’s important that you first intentionally forgive one another for anything that happened during the previous week. Then you can focus on refilling your tanks together:

Physical: Start the day slow and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea together in bed. Cook your Sabbath meal the day before to free up time, then take a walk together or go have a picnic. Avoid running any errands or doing strenuous work.
Mental: Watch a movie or series you both love, together. Play a board game or complete a crossword puzzle.
Emotional: In addition to time with your children and family, make sure you spend quality time alone with one another. Consider doing a couple’s quiz – these quizzes not only offer the opportunity to learn new things about one another; it can also be fun.
Spiritual: Pray together and for each other. If you’re unable to attend church, listen to a sermon together, or have communion. Remember that the purpose of the Sabbath is to renew your strength, so it’s vital that you do things that energise you. For example, if cooking a meal together is something you love to do but never get a chance to do in the week, that might be the best way for you to spend quality time as a couple. ( Just make sure you get everything you need the day before!) And remember to laugh and enjoy one another’s company, free from the strain of any challenges or problems you’re facing.

Honouring the Sabbath will shift your focus away from the busyness of everyday life to your Lord and Creator and enable you – as individuals and as a couple- to become who He intended you to be.

Listen to the podcast about The Sabbath and Marriage in Afrikaans:https://iono.fm/e/1456920

Questions to think and talk about:
1. What is keeping us from having a Sabbath day?
2. How can this benefit us as individuals and as a couple?
3. What are some practical examples of things we can do to fill the four tanks?