Lauren’s Library Nook: Emotional Healthy Spirituality

It’s obvious that, as human beings, we continuously grow throughout our lives, arguably up until the day we enter eternity. We grow physically, but we also grow emotionally. I wasn’t born 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and I certainly couldn’t write book recommendations in kindergarten — although it would have been cool.

We’ve all been through some sort of growth, including enduring the inevitable awkward phase — whether that was getting braces or feeling as if the world revolved around you. But that’s not a sustainable phase to stay in; it’s one that we naturally grow out of because no matter our age, we never stop maturing. It’s just a part of life.

As we get older, our emotional growth becomes more important as we mature and integrate into society. But it doesn’t stop there. Although it’s important to be emotionally mature, as Christians, there is a step beyond that: to be spiritually mature.

This idea led me to read the book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” by Peter Scazzero, founder of New Life Fellowship Church in New York City. His motto for the book, “It’s impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature,” caught my attention and gave me a different outlook on both emotional and spiritual maturity, and how they go hand in hand with the ability to transform lives.

Chapter 6, “Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath,” impacted me more than any other section.

Which is the chapter I’m choosing to share with you. 

If you know me, you probably think that I am always doing something. If I’m being honest, there are very few moments that I dedicate to rest. Instead, I say yes to almost every plan and end my day by going to bed past midnight. In my head, a busy day is a productive day, and my idea of “rest” consists of at least five hours of sleep — but that isn’t a sustainable lifestyle, and I’ve learned that it’s not how God intended me to live.

I know I’m not the only one who feels that taking a whole day of intentional rest is not practical today. Some may consider it a waste of time. However, “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” helped me understand the importance of taking a day of rest and the fruitfulness that comes out of it — including a healthier emotional and spiritual life.

Genesis 2:2-3 reveals God’s intentional rest on the seventh day after creation, thus making it a holy day.

Scazzero writes, “Sabbath provides for us now an additional rhythm for an entire reorientation of our lives around the living God … Without the Sabbath, we easily find ourselves lost and unsure of the larger picture of God and our lives. I am convinced that nothing less than an understanding of Sabbath as a command from God, as well as an invitation, will enable us to grab hold of this rope God offers us.”

He points out the four biblical principles of a Sabbath:

The first is “stop” which surrounds the idea that we can pause because “God is on the throne assuring us the world will not fall apart if we cease our activities.” The second is “rest” which details the importance of taking a break from work, worry, errands, physical exhaustion, talking, technology, etc. The third is “delight,” discussing the necessity to appreciate what God has given us and paying closer attention to these blessings — such as nature. The last principle is “contemplate” which means to ponder the love of God in ways such as reading and studying Scripture and being still in the presence of the Lord.

Through Scazzero’s emphasis of the Sabbath, I have been able to better incorporate this into my own life, which has opened my eyes to the toxicity of our hustle-like culture and has made me appreciate the slow days spent with God, intentional in rest, making me less physically and mentally exhausted and instead more spiritually filled. 

Wisdom dances on every page of Scazzero’s book, but chapter 6 struck a unique chord within me and has encouraged me to live a life pleasing to God.

Shank is the Editor-in-Chief. Follow her on Twitter