In the Campbell house, Saturday is shopping and cleaning day! We are fortunate to have a really good ‘old-school’ market in Clitheroe, where we live, so the day begins with a walk for fruit, veg, meat and cheese before jumping in the car to grab the last few items from Aldi! After bacon sarnies for lunch we hit the house and hoover, polish, tidy and clean so that we are ready for our Sabbath meal in the evening.

It all starts off so well! But then, the working week arrives and we all run around, busy with our own activities, deadlines and stresses – and, too often, we move into ‘survival mode’. Effectively, all our hard work and effort to be organised gets slowly undone throughout the week until we emerge back at the next weekend frazzled and living in a mess!!!

Unfortunately, if I am honest, my spiritual life can also follow a similar pattern to this crazy cycle! Too often, I can start the week from a place of peace and joy after the rest and wonder of Sabbath. But then, the week hits, activity ramps up and all too quickly I get caught up in the week, my mind full of to do lists and problem solving as I slowly sink under the weight of it all – and before I know it, I am in full hedgehog mode, rolling through and trying to do it all in my own strength!!

In the passage from the Message translation of Matthew 11 that we have been looking at it says:

‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’

Making time for Sabbath and pressing into what it means to stop and delight for a whole day every week has been freeing and helped me re-orient my life around Jesus. It has nourished my soul and enabled my attention to be drawn to the goodness of God in my life. But I don’t think it was quite the plan for me to do that in isolation 1 day every week and then fall into an abyss of stress and busyness on the other 6!! That pattern of life feels like it is missing something of the full meaning of what Jesus was describing when He talked about the ‘unforced rhythms of grace’.

Sabbath rest is an important rhythm and a fundamental building block of how we are supposed to do life – but we are also made in the image of a creator God and as such ‘creating’ is in our DNA! We are each called to join in with God’s story here on earth and be co-workers with Him (1 Cor 3:9) – so the answer, clearly, isn’t to live in rest rhythms every day! But how do I stay in step with Jesus and live ‘freely and lightly’ on the other 6 days of the week?

Well –  as Matthew 11 suggests, let’s ‘watch how’ Jesus does it!

Time and again in the gospels we read of Jesus going by Himself to a mountain – a solitary place – to pray. My favourite story of this is in Mark 1: 35 – 37. It is early on in Jesus ministry – He has gathered His first disciples, driven out an evil spirit, performed miraculous healings and is starting to gather great crowds to hear his incredible preaching!! Humanly speaking, that feels like an important time – a time when momentum is building. Strategically, surely that is a time to press in and build reputation while there are opportunities for ministry to grow!! But Jesus response isn’t to source bigger venues or employ someone to manage his diary.

His response is to withdraw to a solitary place to pray. His disciples come looking for Him, clearly excited – ‘Everyone is looking for you!’ They are excited by what is happening and are clearly ready to ramp it up!! But Jesus knows how important it is, in the midst of the business, to keep His eyes firmly on His Father – to not get caught up or swept along with the craziness of life but to continually be reminded of who He is and what He is called to, by spending time with God. And there’s an aspect of Submission in this – which we’ll come to in a couple of weeks – a reminder that God can bring opportunities in our path without needing us to self-promote!

Ps 91:1 says:

‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’

I recognise that, at times, I have approached the ‘shelter of the Most High’ more like a rain shelter where I dash for cover when it’s needed, than a place where I can dwell. A place to retreat to occasionally rather than a place where I remain and put down roots – a place I live from.

The weekly rhythm of Sabbath is important – a time for our heart, our soul, our mind and our physical body to rest – to stop and notice the wonder of God – to take delight in His presence and be reminded that He takes delight in us – to be reminded that we are part of God’s story, not the other way around.

However, across the rest of the week, as we press into our role as ‘co-workers’ with God, it is vital that we create space and opportunity to remain in step with Jesus. Time for God to remind us of His plans for our day before we get carried away with the business and over-write them with our own!

A daily rhythm where we seek out solitary places of prayer – where we punctuate the day with moments of stillness.

It is vital that we create space and opportunity to remain in step with Jesus. Time for God to remind us of His plans for our day before we get carried away with the business and over-write them with our own!

Amy Carmichael, missionary and writer from the early 20^th century, describes it like this:

‘If you refuse to be hurried and pressed,

If you stay your soul on God,

Nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace.

In that stillness you will know what His will is.’

Any Carmichael – Candles in the Dark: letters of Hope and Encouragement, p56

I have found that what it looks like for me to have a daily rhythm of stillness has changed over time – however, regardless of what it looks like, I have definitely noticed the difference when I let these moments be squeezed out. German Theologian, Martin Luther, is famously quoted as saying he prayed two hours a day unless he was busy, then he would pray for three hours. What a great reminder that we do all things through Christ who strengthens us – when there is more to do then we need more of Jesus!!

There are loads of bible reading notes, prayer patterns and devotional apps available now that can help us develop patterns of prayer that we can shape our day around – we’ll press into some of those in a bit more detail moving forward with Living Well. 

One very simple idea that I have been enjoying recently is the use of ‘Breathing Prayers’. I had been experimenting with different ways of starting my day well – reading scripture and spending time in God’s presence – but noticed how easy it was for me then, even with that healthy start, to throw myself into a work day and quickly fill my mind with whatever task was in front of me. I wanted to remind myself throughout the day that, whatever I am working on, it’s about joining in with God’s story, not about writing my own! I wanted to punctuate my day with moments of Stillness in God’s presence – tiny opportunities to settle my attention on God – and Breathing Prayers were a great tool for this.

The benefits of breathing have been well documented. Aside from the obvious that it keeps us alive – deep breathing can decrease stress and increase calm by slowing your heart rate and increasing the release of endorphins – the ‘feel good’ chemicals! Matching deep breathing with scripture and prayer just felt like a no-brainer for me! And so, I began to get into the habit, before I started a new activity or went into a meeting, of taking a few moments to take 3 deep breaths and say a simple scripture as a prayer – Ps 46:10 is a favourite of mine!

‘Be still and Know that I am God’ Ps 46:10

If you want to have a go at punctuating your day with moments of stillness and would like to give ‘Breathing Prayers’ a try – you can download a free resource with cards to print out and keep in your wallet or on your desk.

What kind of pattern do your days tend to follow?

Are there parts of your day when you feel closer/further away from the presence of God?

What might it look like for you to punctuate your day with moments of Stillness?

Try setting aside 5 minutes in the busiest part of your day for a moment of Stillness. You can download a free copy of the breathing prayer resource [here].