At she works HIS way, we take Sunday seriously. We rarely post or even log in to our social media or email accounts. Our desire is to set an example that, despite what all the experts may say about what unplugging even for a day does to your organic reach, obeying God is more important than obeying the latest algorithm. (We’re pretty sure that goes without saying. But, we’re saying it anyway.)
But Sunday isn’t just about unplugging from the world. It’s about intentionally plugging into our greatest Source of power: God Himself.
You know we love the phrase “keep my hustle holy” around here. But the truth is, our work is just one aspect of holy hustle. Holy hustle should happen in our homes. And most importantly, holy hustle should happen in our hearts.
Yes, that holy hustle of heart should happen every day. But we also can’t ignore that God has instructed us to have one day a week where He gets more than just some of our hustle: He gets all of it.
In Exodus 31:12-18, God specifically speaks to Moses about the Sabbath. But before we dig into some application, I want to point out that in the first part of Exodus 31, God speaks about the skilled craftsmen and how they were to use their gifts to construct the Tabernacle together:
“I have filled him [skilled craftsman] with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge and in all kinds of craftsmanship,” (Exodus 31:3).
Before God instructed us to take a day off, He validated our work first. Despite whatever justifications we may want to make on why we “need” that day to get ahead, or to catch up, let’s remember that these instructions come to us from a loving God who gave us the very gifts we long to use, and He, too, believes using our gifts is an important use of our time… and so is taking a Sabbath.
But it’s more than just a day off. Exodus 31 lays out three purposes for observing a Sabbath:
Remember.
“But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you’” (Exodus 31:13).
Let’s just be honest. It’s so easy to get caught up in our flesh and forget God’s faithfulness. It’s much more common to dwell in doubt than to dwell in devotion.
We must take the time to remember.
This may look different for each of us. Maybe it means we spend extra time in His Word or we go for a prayer walk. Maybe this means having meaningful conversation as a family to share how we’ve seen God’s faithfulness in our lives with our children. Maybe this is when you can take extra time to journal or browse through notes you have written in the margins of your Bible.
How we put this into practice will look different for each of us, but we should carve out specific times to remember how blessed we are to have a God who keeps His promises.
Rest.
“For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord…” (Exodus 31:15).
I remember feeling such freedom the first time I read Aedriel Moxley’s words that “rest” does not mean “unproductive.” I feel you, I promise! I know it’s hard to shut off your business-brain. It goes against all of your natural instincts.
So I don’t trust my natural instincts to do it for me. I pray and ask God to help me rest. Every. Single. Sunday.
Now, if you’re like me and constantly find yourself wondering if there are exceptions to absolutes, I love that just a few chapters later, we see this:
“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest, you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21).
Just a short time after this instruction, God was already addressing specifics. To most people, farming was a real responsibility. Plowing and harvest seasons added a tremendous amount of work without creating more hours in their day.
So if instead of to the farmer, this verse was written to the 2018 she works His way woman, I believe it would say something like, “even if your business goes viral” or “even when you have four kids who are four and under” or “even when it seems like there’s no other time to get it done.”
Let’s take the command to rest as seriously as we take the command to work.
Be refreshed.
“…for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth but on the seventh day, He ceased from labor and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17).
Not a week goes by when I don’t talk to a woman who is burnt out and overwhelmed. Now, being overwhelmed isn’t always avoidable, but we definitely run the risk of unnecessary weariness when we don’t realize that rest refreshes us; rest doesn’t sabotage our effectiveness.
If you’re here, you’re a leader. I have no doubt that whether you’re at work, at home, or just going about your normal life, you give, give, give…and give some more.
Some of you reading this even feel guilty whenever you ever do rest. And it’s time to change your mindset. Because remember, we’re not talking about lounging around or being lazy.
This is purposeful rest to be refreshed, so we can go full throttle into the next six days giving God all we’ve got simply because we remember how blessed we are to be His representatives in a world that is desperate for Him.
So let’s refuse to simply unplug on Sundays.
Let’s remember.
Let’s rest.
Let’s be refreshed.
I’m rooting for you.
