Sixteen-year-old Callie is juggling many responsibilities. She plays varsity volleyball, tutors a younger 

student in Spanish, sings in show choir, and has three AP classes at school. This doesn’t even include the 

demands of singing with the high school band at church and being on the student ministry leadership 

team. She gets up early each morning to make rehearsals and stays up late each night finishing her 

demanding homework. While Callie used to feel confident and in “control,” she’s now beginning to feel 

stressed out and overwhelmed. She used to enjoy her time alone with God, but it’s beginning to feel like 

just another homework assignment and a duty to check off her to-do list.

Sound familiar? More and more students are increasing their activity and taking on more responsibility. 

While the demands are high, students are often left with spiritual dryness and emptiness. What they are 

lacking is what Scripture calls Sabbath.

Mark Buchanan, author of the book The Rest of God, says, “We have forgotten the ancient wisdom, 

rooted in God’s own rhythm of work and reset, of Sabbath. Sabbath is elixir and antidote. It is a gift for 

our sanity and wholeness—to prolong our lives, to enrich our relationships, to increase our fruitfulness, to 

make our joy complete. Sabbath restores our bent and withered parts.”

Read Exodus 20:8–11. The first word in this passage is “remember.” God was reminding them of His own 

example—that Creation was completed in six days and that the seventh day was set aside as a day of 

rest. The Sabbath is part of the cadence of life—a balance of work and rest. It’s a day to focus on what 

the Lord has done and to be reminded of His faithfulness in our lives. Sabbath is a reminder to keep our 

focus on the Lord.

Celebrating Sabbath means making time in your schedule to focus on God. But Sabbath is also an attitude of the heart. The next time that you begin to get caught up in the “doing” of life, consider the ways 

that you are “being.” Do you know how to “be” with God—to “be” quiet and to “be” reminded of His 

goodness? Keep the rhythm of Sabbath each week, and don’t forget to “remember.”

ConnECtion QUEstions

1. Are there times that you feel stressed out with life’s demands? How do you balance your 

schedule and rest?

2. In what ways is the Sabbath holy? (Look at Ex. 20:11.) Have you considered whether you 

observe Sabbath as a holy part of your spiritual journey?

3. In what ways do you need to rearrange your life in order to make time for Sabbath?

4. If Sabbath calls for time and a right attitude of the heart, how can you realign those two 

things practically?

5. How can you listen more closely to the voice of God through Sabbath?