When I say the word “sanctuary” what do you think of?

Perhaps you think about a church sanctuary—a place where people gather for worship services.

Perhaps a butterfly sanctuary—an environment created specifically so butterflies can thrive. Or maybe political sanctuary—what someone can receive in a new country if fleeing persecution.

All of these examples include the idea of a special place. They are protected from encroaching harm. As a result they can thrive as intended.

The word itself is related to the Latin word for “holy,” sanctus. In a religious sense a sanctuary is set apart from common use for godly purposes.

Let’s extend the idea further. Let’s think about sanctuary not just with respect to space, but to time. Dale Patrick calls the Sabbath day of rest a “sanctuary of time.”* This is helpful because it makes us think about our schedules in a new way. What if there wasn’t only a physical place where we could find protection and refreshment, but a chronological place? A chunk of time?

In Isaiah 58:14 (ESV) we learn what will happen to God’s people if they properly observe the Sabbath: “you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.” How wonderful! To use a modern expression, we will feel as if we are on top of the world!

Modern life can go sideways. Finding time to rest—especially a full day—can be exceedingly difficult, and especially in a 24/7 culture. Perhaps it can happen on Sunday. Perhaps it can happen on Saturday. Perhaps you need to get creative to find what works for you. (For a podcast and blog about whether or not it should be on one specific day, see the link below.)

But insofar as it’s up to us, we should endeavour to make inconsistent rest the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. In this non-stop world of fatigue and bamboozlement, Christians will need to be prayerful if they want to be effective.

Let’s schedule for success and develop a “sanctuary of time.”

And you shall take delight in the Lord and ride on the heights of the earth.

Notes:

-“Should the Sabbath be on Saturday or Sunday for Christians?” Click here, or listen at ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ wherever you subscribe (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.)
-*Quoted in: Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991), 229.