The pace of modern life and associated mental health challenges are exponentially increasing.  Many people express nostalgia for a simpler time when life felt more fulfilling and meaningful. These longings are symptoms of people who have lost touch with their Creator and their relationship with Him. Being deliberate, regular and proactive in disconnecting from the world and reconnecting with our Creator is a spiritual discipline that every believer should develop.  The Sabbath is a time to stop, rest, delight and worship the Lord.  In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was the first day of each week in the Jewish calendar.

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Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Exodus 20:8-9,11

This 4th commandment of rest is one that has largely been lost to the detriment of believers in the Christian community. The question is often raised that New Testament Christians are not under the law and thus are not required to keep the Sabbath.  It is true that Romans 15:5 does promote liberty as to whether believers set apart a specific day. But the question of whether we are still 'required' to observe a Sabbath day misses the point.  We should long for the pleasure of regular communion with our Creator and not see it as a burden.  Keeping it holy is not a duty, but a joy.

Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:27

Because the Sabbath was made for man, by not participating in Sabbath rest, Christians are missing out of the healthy spiritual pattern that God designed for humanity. The value of a 1 in 7 day break has only accentuated in the digital age.