Why Do You Keep the Sabbath?

I used to play baseball—and I was pretty good. I remember one Friday when I was 13, I was pitching in a game that started at 7:00 p.m. We were winning 2–0, and I had 12 strikeouts through five innings. Sundown was at 8:30. As I made my final pitch, I handed the ball to my coach and told him I had to leave. His face showed shock and disappointment. He said, “You can’t leave now. We need you.” I told him I had to go—it was almost sundown, and I didn’t want to break the Sabbath.

That night, I was torn. I was proud I honored God, but I also felt like I let down my team. Then, around 9:30, there was a knock on the door. My dad called me downstairs and said, “You have a visitor.” It was my coach—with my whole team behind him. He said, “We won the game—and we couldn’t have done it without you.” My teammates hugged me, and then my coach handed me the game ball—everyone had signed it. I was stunned. 

I remember going upstairs and thanking God for His favor and kindness.

You’d think after something like that, I’d never be tempted to break the Sabbath. But years later, after I had kids, I walked away from the truth. I became my kids’ Little League coach—and yes, they played and I coached on the Sabbath.

Looking back, I regret ever turning my back on God and breaking His Sabbath. I had always known about the Sabbath—but I never truly understood why I kept it.

Do you?

Let’s look at three reasons why we should keep the Sabbath day:

1. God made this day for you.

Genesis 2:1-3 says: “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

God Himself rested on the seventh day. The Hebrew word for rested is shabath which means “to desist from exertion.” The One who created everything stopped working on this day. Not only that—He blessed the day and sanctified it (set it apart and made it holy).

Before God created time, there was no Sabbath—no days of the week. He created the day and night structure and time itself in Genesis 1. He made this special day for us, as we read in Mark 2:27, “And He [Christ] said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’”

God set the perfect example so we could also stop our usual activities and spend this day with Him.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents because both of my parents worked. But on my dad’s day off, he’d take me to the park. We’d talk, eat, play ball—it was our time together. I looked forward to it.

Do you look forward to spending time each week with your Heavenly Father?

Psalm 63:1, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Have you ever gone a whole day without water? Your lips crack, your throat tightens—you long for refreshment. That’s how we should feel about God’s Sabbath. All week long we face work, school, stress. Then He gives us a full day to rest, recharge and reconnect with Him.

2. It’s a command from God.

God gave us commandments to protect us, guide us, and teach us how to love Him and others. They’re not suggestions—they’re commands. The Hebrew word means “to give a charge.” When God says something, we’re meant to listen and obey.

Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

God tells us to remember the Sabbath. Why? Because we forget. As a teen, I often forgot to take out the trash or clean my room, even though my parents reminded me. Sound familiar?

God doesn’t want us to forget this day. He knows how much we need it. The Sabbath is a day to reflect on His goodness, His promises and His Kingdom. It’s not just about physical rest—it’s about spiritual connection.

Now, this doesn’t mean we sleep the whole day away. It means we rest from normal routines and give God our full attention. If you ever wonder what’s appropriate on the Sabbath, imagine Christ is right beside you. Ask, “Would this please Him? Would He do this?”

3. It’s a sign between you and God.

Ezekiel 20:12, “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

The word sign means a signal, a beacon, a monument.

Think of it this way:

If you live in the U.S., your flag is the American flag.
If you’re in France, your monument might be the Eiffel Tower.
In North Carolina, a familiar beacon is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

In the same way, the Sabbath is God’s sign that you belong to Him. When you keep the Sabbath, you’re saying, “I’m in a relationship with the God who created everything.” That’s powerful.

It’s not just a day off. It’s a mark of who you are—it shows the world (and reminds you) who you serve. The Sabbath is God’s way of identifying His people.

So next time your friends want to hang out on Friday night, or your boss asks you to work Saturday, remember why you keep the Sabbath:

God made this day for you.
He commanded you to keep it.
It’s a sign between you and Him.

God didn’t just ask us to do something for no reason—He gave us a gift. One day each week to pause, reflect, rest and be with Him. What a blessing!

Will you choose to honor it?