[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 01/Feb/2026]
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat
– for he grants sleep to those he loves.
Psalm 127 v2 [NIVUK]
If you are reading this article, then I have probably already started my sabbatical. You may or may not be entirely sure what that means, but understanding the origin of the word sabbatical is a helpful place to start.
It comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat, which means to rest or to cease. It is directly linked to the biblical idea of Sabbath – the seventh day of the week, set aside as a day of rest. This pattern is rooted in the creation story itself, where God rested after six days of creative work. Not because God was tired, but because rest was built into the rhythm of life from the very beginning.
In my case, a sabbatical comes in the seventh year and is a season in which I am given permission to step back from my usual church responsibilities. It is a time to rest, to cease, to stop. The aim is rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and restoration. It recognises something we all know, but often forget: none of us are machines. We are at our best when we serve and minister from a place of rest, not exhaustion.
That idea runs counter to much of modern life. We live in a culture that often demands its pound of flesh, where constant productivity is celebrated and rest can feel like a luxury – or even a failure. It is little wonder that burnout and mental health struggles are increasingly common, not least because many of us are also driven by our own sense of guilt to keep going long after we should have stopped.
So, how well do you rest? And do you really recognise how important it is?
I’ll be honest: I find resting difficult. Even now, I am already making mental lists of all the jobs I could get done during my month off – which, of course, rather misses the point. So please pray for me, that this time will be genuinely restorative. And perhaps also pray for yourself, that you might discover more moments of Sabbath rest woven into the rhythm of your own week.
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Last Sunday’s reflection: What Are You Writing In Your Journal? by David Makanjuola
Contributed by Martin Shorey; © Martin Shorey