The Sacred Pause: How Sabbath Rest can Shape Your Advent Journey
This year, maybe more than previous years, I am struggling to get into the holiday mindset. I have felt so separated from the feeling of the season and felt confused by the cold. I have not been preparing myself for this season well and still have almost all of my shopping to do. I have been striving to get so much right, and I just don’t. And I am exhausted. I come stumbling into Advent with the idea that I can just push through and get this right too. I can do all the right devotionals, I can do all the right readings, I can light the candles in the right order, but if I do that in my own strength it is still me just pushing through to have some sort of personal fulfillment or accomplishment.
But Advent holds something deeper—a sacred pause initiated by God and completed by God. A pause meant to draw us back to what was given to us, to remind us of grace and promise. It’s a rhythm we’re invited to live every week in Sabbath rest. Yet when that rhythm has been broken, Advent can feel strangely absent, like silence where there should be song.
It’s meant a season of anticipation, of longing for the coming of Christ but some years it just doesn’t feel like that and that can be uncomfortable. But in that waiting, we can find a beautiful parallel to Sabbath rest.
Sabbath is God’s gift of rest—a weekly reminder that we are not defined by our productivity but by His presence. It’s a rhythm of stopping, breathing, and remembering who we belong to. Advent carries that same invitation, but on a seasonal scale. It calls us to slow down, to prepare room in our hearts, and to wait with hope.
Both Sabbath and Advent resist the cultural pull toward hurry and consumption. They whisper a countercultural truth: you don’t have to earn this gift. You only have to receive it.
When we ignore Sabbath, we lose the habit of holy stillness. When we rush through Advent, we miss the beauty of expectation. These practices aren’t about adding more to your calendar—they’re about creating space for God to meet you where you are.
If you feel behind, distracted, or disconnected this season, you’re not alone. Advent isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence. It’s about pausing long enough to notice the light breaking into the darkness.
The Adjustment Tools
So what do we do with this? How do we fix it? I don’t want to be this uncomfortable and I don’t want to continue this exhausting cycle. And while this may be difficult to say or hear, I don’t think that the beginning of this advent season wants us to necessarily fix the uncomfortable. I think it wants us to lean on Him in the wading through the uncomfortable. So I have some tools I will be using to try and help myself adjust my process and lean properly. Let me share:
Find someone to walk with… it helps- always.
Find scripture that helps you refocus the energy and meditate on that day and night.
Find a holy practice to help you physically set your intention on His process and remind yourself of His working.
Figure out what you need to remove that isn’t feeding the Advent message.
And if it helps, ask yourself a few of these questions:
Where have I been striving for approval or control?
What does God’s grace mean for me in this season?
How can I make space for joy today—even in something small?
What would peace look like in my schedule this week?
What am I waiting for this Advent, and how can I trust God in the waiting?
Advent and Sabbath are not burdens; they are gifts. They remind us that God’s timing is perfect, that His promises are sure, and that His presence is enough. So if you feel behind this season, take heart. Advent isn’t just about counting down days—it’s about learning to wait well.
Because in the stillness, in the waiting, in the sacred rhythm of rest, we discover the miracle of Advent: God with us.
