The Sabbath Deeper than Your Emotions
To be moved by the love of God, we must first be still. Let him carry your burdens, let him uphold the universe, and simply sit at his feet. Often, we try to calm the turmoil within our hearts with more motion, but it won’t calm our anxiety any more than adding more wind to a storm will calm a raging sea.
The synonyms of turmoil include turbulence, unrest, chaos, spinning, reeling, and disorientation. These words indicate motion that has has become out-of-control and violent. We want to be moved—that is to say, we want to experience emotions, but we don’t want restlessness or despair. We want to be moved, but we also want (and need) to be still, because from a certain kind of stillness with God comes controlled movement in the direction of joy. There is no other path to a heart joyfully dancing under the light of God’s love.
The word “emotion” contains the word “motion” and comes from the French émouvior, which means “to stir up.” But there are emotional experiences for which being stirred is not an apt description. Consider the metaphor of still waters used in Psalm 23 to describe the inner peace into which our Good Shepherd leads. Imagine a meadow sloping gently down to a lake so undisturbed that it reflects the sky and landscape like glass, without a single ripple. That emotional experience is more like being unstirred than stirred.
As we reach the limits of language, we are forced to look for a word better than “emotion” to fully capture the way our hearts, which are meant to respond with emotion to the world around, are also meant to be anchored in restful stillness. Perhaps this is why many Christians feel the need to differentiate between the words happiness and joy, even though our dictionaries indicate no meaningful difference. How do we describe something like a bedrock to our emotional lives, that is both part of our emotional life yet unmoved by the inner turmoil endemic to the human experience in a broken world?
The Sabbath is God’s command to rest from all ordinary work once a week and simply worship him. It’s a pause we all need, to keep from overheating emotionally. But, there is a kind of Sabbath rest commanded all the time, in the midst of ordinary life. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10) Cease from your anxious toil; be still—and trust God’s promises. This stillness stands beneath and regardless of our other emotions, yet is the foundation and the truest part of our emotional life. Stillness before God is the Sabbath rest deeper than all your other emotions.
Stillness is the inflection point between worry and trust. If you struggle to trust God, be still; sit at his feet a while—and a while longer than you think you need. Lay down your worries one by one; shoulders strapped with burdens will never feel the light touch of his hand. Take off your armor; you’re in a safe place now. You may be afraid to be vulnerable before him, but it’s the only way you’ll ever find out if he’s truly kind.
The goal is not cold unemotionality, as if it were even possible. At the sight of a friend’s death and a grieving sister, Jesus was “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled,” and he wept (John 11:32-35). In the hours before crucifixion, he said to his disciples, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death…” (Matthew 26:36) He was moved; yet, he was still. He never wavered in restful stillness as he communed with his Father and trusted him. As the motion in our Savior’s heart grew so violent that he would begin sweating drops of blood, he ran to the stillness of his Father’s presence, falling on his face and praying earnestly (Luke 22:44). The one whom even the wind and they waves obey (Matt. 8:27) was willingly entering the storm for us, so that he could lead us to still waters.
So, sit at the feet of your Good Shepherd long enough to get a glimpse of his love. Even if your anxieties cause you to sweat drops of blood, you’ve come to someone who understands. Be still, and know that he is God. There you will find a bedrock of peace, a Sabbath rest, for if the King of the universe loves you enough to die for you, everything will be okay for you in his presence.
In this life, you may not be able to escape journeys through the valley of the shadow of death. And, in that valley you will inevitably feel pain. You may shake, but there is nothing to fear. So, be still, so that in time, you will dance under the light of God’s love.
