Worship Through Writing
Sabbath and the Spirit of the Law
I was asked a question recently that made me stop and think.
Why are you writing on the Sabbath?
Shouldn’t you be resting instead of working?
It wasn’t a hostile question. It was sincere. But it assumed something I don’t actually believe. It is assumed that writing, for me, is work in the way Scripture warns against.
For me, it isn’t. I worship through writing.
I think this is one of those places where Jesus’ teaching about the letter of the law and the spirit of the law really matters.
The Sabbath was given as a gift, not a burden.
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
God gave the day of rest because we need rest. Because we forget we are not God. Because we are tempted to define ourselves by output and productivity instead of trust. Sabbath reminds us to stop striving and to remember who provides.
But Jesus also made it clear that the Sabbath was never meant to choke obedience, calling, or mercy.
“It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12).
For me, writing is not striving. It is not grinding. It is not chasing money or recognition. Writing is how God wired me. It is how I serve. It is how I process truth. It is how I worship. I worship through writing.
Worship through writing is not something I turn on and off based on the calendar. It flows out of who I am and how God made me.
I Worship Through writing.
When I’m writing, my mind is focused on Him. Whether I’m working through a devotional, a journal entry, or even a piece of science fiction, my thoughts are turned toward truth, meaning, sacrifice, redemption, and purpose. I am not distracted from God when I write. I am oriented toward Him.
Scripture never treats worship as limited to a place or a schedule.
“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
That verse doesn’t carve out exceptions. It doesn’t say “except on the Sabbath.” It speaks to posture. To intent. To the heart behind the action.
Jesus confronted this issue constantly. The religious leaders were focused on rule-keeping, while missing the heart of God entirely. They guarded the law so tightly that they forgot why it was given.
Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He allowed His disciples to eat. He refused to let the law become a cage that kept people from life.
“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17).
That statement offended people. Not because it was wrong, but because it exposed a misunderstanding of God’s nature. God does not stop being God one day a week. He sustains, gives life, and works mercy continually.
Worship through writing, for me, is not breaking the Sabbath. It is honoring God with what He has entrusted to me.
Rest is not inactivity. Rest is trust.
If I were writing from anxiety, fear, or compulsion, that would be a problem. If I were driven by the need to prove something, to keep up, or to earn value, that would violate the heart of Sabbath. But that is not what this is.
When I write, I am not trying to control outcomes. I am offering what I have. I am using the gift God gave me to point back to Him.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace” (1 Peter 4:10).
That stewardship doesn’t pause because the sun sets on a particular day. Calling doesn’t switch off. Obedience doesn’t run on a weekly schedule.
For some people, rest means stopping all activity. For others, rest means doing the thing God designed them to do without pressure or striving. Discernment matters here. One size does not fit all.
Paul addressed this tension clearly.
“One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Romans 14:5).
That verse doesn’t dismiss Sabbath. It reframes it. It moves the conversation from rule enforcement to conscience before God.
Worship through writing is how I honor God every day of the week, including the Sabbath. It draws me closer to Him. It quiets my mind. It focuses my heart. It is not something that pulls me away from rest. It is part of how I enter it.
Jesus never asked us to live by rigid rule-keeping divorced from love and truth. He asked us to follow Him. To walk with Him. To learn His heart.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
And His commandments always point toward life, not bondage.
So no, I don’t see writing as breaking the Sabbath. I see it as worship. I worship through writing. I see it as obedience. I see it as honoring the God who gave me this gift and asked me to use it faithfully.
This, too, is part of the road back. Learning to live in the freedom Jesus actually gave, not the fear He came to remove.