God Ain’t on Sabbatical!
Image of a beach. Photo by Azzedine Rouichi on Unsplash
I never knew the term “sabbatical” until I entered the arena of higher education. Of course at that time, we didn’t have the technology like we do now. One would learn of their favorite professors’ time away to write, research, scholar travel, etc., by going to their office and finding a note on their white board. One didn’t have contact with them during that time. They were not expected to check emails or respond to messages. It was a time for them to recharge, pursue new interests, reconnect and enhance their expertise - with the intention to return a semester or even a year later. Fast forward a few decades and find that our professors’ sabbatical may be followed on social media, getting a glimpse of what they engage “while away.” As I’ve witnessed so many changes (so many) in our world, I’ve admittedly felt like the ultimate professor, God has taken a sabbatical. Have we pushed God to their breaking point? Has God written an “out of office notification” on the white boards of our challenges, our uncertainties, our collective disappointment and left us with the substitute? Have our credit hours been used up? Are we to postpone graduation? To be honest, I’ve felt like the senior finding out in the cap and gown pickup line that “I’m not on the list.” But isn’t it just like God to so lovingly let us know that He does not in fact engage sabbatical, but perhaps we should.
I began to envision what sabbatical looks like. How might I deepen my relationship with God? How might I position myself to hear the voice of God more intentionally? How might I create space to be the hands and feet to whom I belong? How might I minimize murmuring and channel my chatter to be of encouragement to someone else? Psalm 46:1 reminds us that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. In other words, God ain’t on sabbatical! And because of salvation, we do not need to feel as though we must carry weight that was never assigned to us. If anything, how might we take a sabbatical in God? Could we go so deep in God that we sharpen our discernment? Ground our trust in Him? Create an atmosphere of praise wherever we go and pray without ceasing? Our sabbatical in God actually prepares us to do what He’s called us to do. I have taken far too many “hiatuses” and far too few sabbaticals.
So, here goes. I’m going to give it a try. I welcome your thoughts and examples of what it may look like for you. Sabbatical is more powerful than our Sunday afternoon nap. It is deep reboot in God. Is tastes like surrender. It looks like rest. It sounds like refreshment. I don’t yet know how it feels - but I vow to work on it. As Jesus laid down His life, what might it feel like to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily besets us? We cannot get to the “running” in Hebrews 1 if we first don’t engage in the practice of release! God I choose to relinquish what I don’t know or understand to embrace the invitation to “lay it all down.” I am reminded of the lyrics by Refresh Worship:
Let every day be made a throne
For you and you alone
We worship you
My heart, My mind and all my soul
My strength, My breath, My bones
Will worship you
While I may not be able to travel to a beach such as the pictured, in God, everyday is beach day! May we assume our heritage of trust and release of perceived control in the capable hands of the One who created heaven and earth. Let me place my “away” message on the white board.