This is the first installment in our Healthy Leaders Series. It seems kind of mean to start with Sabbath, I know, but if you don’t get a handle on your time, you’re just going to stay tired and unhealthy, and no one can sustain that for very long…

Listen, Friend, I get it. You’re busy. Like, busy busy. You’ve got responsibilities at work, responsibilities at home, you have to hang out with your friends so they don’t give up on you, you have books to read, sermons to write, weddings to plan for, funerals to conduct, that project you’ve been putting off, yes, that one… It’s a lot. And the last thing you need is someone telling you to take a day off.

I get it. I really do. But let me tell you a story…

The first time I was unemployed for an extended period of time (yes, I did say the first time—Welcome to my life), I was reading my Bible one morning and worrying about the bills that were coming due in the next couple of days. Multitasking at its best.

Well, it just so happens (ha. ha.) that I was in Malachi that day, and I came across a verse that, at first glance, made me want to throw my Bible against the wall. You know the verse, I’m sure:

Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. ~ Malachi 3:10 (CSB)

So there I was, sitting there without a job, bills coming due, and God was telling me to give back part of what I’d been given first? Seriously God? Out of the little bit I have, You want some of it? Really? (Please go back and read that last part with a “Really?!? with Seth and Amy” inflection.)

Yes, that’s exactly what God was saying, and I knew it. That day launched me into a lifelong, terrifying journey of trust and obedience. And you know what? God has always come through for me. It’s has never, ever, not once looked the way I thought it would, but always, every time, God has provided what I needed.

What does this have to do with how much you have to do this week? Well, kind of everything. The principle of tithing is this: Bring the firstfruits to God and trust that you’ll always have what you need. And while we talk to our people about tithing their income, the principle applies to our time too.

When you’re overwhelmed with too much to do and are worried you won’t have enough time, what would it look like for you to bring God the firstfruits of your time and energy? Can you trust God enough to take a real, genuine, day of rest every week? What about trusting God with the first hour or so of your day? And what could happen if you actually used all of those vacation days you’ve been accumulating?

I’d be willing to bet that if you had an honest conversation with your Boss and made a deliberate decision to keep a regular Sabbath and trust God with the firstfruits of your time, you’ll find, much like I have, that somehow, some way, everything gets done, and bonus, you’re not as exhausted.

I know none of this is new ground for most of you. You know what God has asked of us, and you know what God has promised to us. Is it time for you to stop fighting for more time and instead, give some of it back to the One who gives it to you in the first place?

Here are a few questions to think about, talk to God about, and probably talk with your teams about:

What is keeping you from practicing a Sabbath rhythm right now?
When was the last time you had an honest conversation with God about this?
Who in your life can help you find and maintain a Sabbath rhythm?
What do you risk if you keep going at the pace you’ve been trying to maintain?

Need some help getting started? Let me help you!