Trusting God with My Time

Posted by: Brittany Riva, Program Director | Monday, October 12th, 2026 ( 9:11am)

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.”—Exodus 20:8-10a

Depending on how you grew up, the word Sabbath can bring a lot of things to mind. Maybe to you, it meant a day where there was no playing with friends or watching TV. Maybe it meant the day you went to church. Maybe it didn’t really mean anything at all, it was just a day to lay on the couch and watch football.

“Remember the Sabbath” is one of the Ten Commandments, but I think many of us put it in a different category. It’s one of those Commandments that feels more like a suggestion. We KNOW that murdering people and stealing are sins, but taking a “break” on a Sunday? That seems kind of optional. At least, that’s the way I looked at it for a long time.

Then my perspective changed. I was told by a pastor that the Sabbath is one day a week where we, as believers, can declare that we don’t follow the way of the world or its pace.

Listen, I’m a wife and mom of two young kids, and I work full-time outside the home. There is ALWAYS a long to-do list. There is never enough time in the week, so I play catch-up on the weekends. Between sports, projects, and spending time with family and friends, trying to fit all the “to-do’s” into ONE day just isn’t practical....but isn’t that the point?

Sabbath says to the world that God governs my time, not my to-do list. It says my life is centered around the Lord, not my schedule of events.

You know what else it does? It challenges how much I trust God. Do I trust that if I honor the Sabbath, I will still get the important things done? Do I trust that if I honor the Sabbath, God will give me the strength to get a little bit more done on Saturday or on Monday? Do I trust Him enough to leave that work email until Monday or let the to-do list go for awhile longer? To not base the value of myself or my day off on what I accomplish?

Now, Jesus talked to the Pharisees about what happens when we load up God’s command with all these other caveats, when we mandate to each other what should or should not happen on the Sabbath. Piling up rules around Sabbath is just as bad as not taking Sabbath to begin with. God created us as finite beings needing rest and renewal, and a Sabbath day can look different to different people.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a tough time with this, but I’m trying to look at Sabbath differently. My week starts with a few more things on my to-do list (I need to vacuum today!), but it also begins with a greater sense of peace because I’ve taken the time to slow down and pause.

I no longer view Sunday as a day to “gear up for the week.” It’s become a day to go on a walk with family, pick apples, play board games, read a book, and just take a deep breath. This calms my heart and allows me to start the week remembering I belong not to the world but to God. My worth is not found in what I accomplish but in the One who loves me no matter what else I have going on.

And when I remember that truth, everything else falls into place. Not because my to-do list is any shorter, but because Sabbath reorients my heart to what is true: I belong to God, and He is enough.