Give yourself a break from having to know all the things, all the time. Take an informational Sabbath.
It’s more than just a digital detox.
The Information Age
We want to know.
Right now.
- What will happen if we don’t get the work contract?
- Will it wreck my phone to update to iOS 13?
- Is it going to rain Saturday?
- Does my granddaughter have RSV?
- Is this relationship in God’s will?
This is the age of information. We want knowledge quickly, easily, and accurately.
The first temptation still haunts us today. We want to know everything we can know, just as Eve wanted fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6).
- Uncertainty makes us anxious. So we don’t let up until we know more.
- We are afraid of being in the dark. So we flick on as many lights as we can.
- We don’t want to appear stupid. So we put in hours of research until we’re worn out.
Are we trying to be our own gods? Thank God for Google. Right?
Search Overload
We definitely need information, of course.
We have to know things to function well. God wants us to make wise choices based on rational decisions. We need Christian scientists, teachers, nurses, business owners, therapists, theologians, etc. Knowledge helps us survive. It makes our lives better.
But can our “need to know” become unhealthy?
Yes.
Any of us can become information junkies, addicted to the next hit of knowledge. We can be misled into a false sense of security when we think we know it all. We can make poor decisions when we think we’re in total control.
And most dangerous of all, we can think, “Who needs God?” when we have so many sources of knowledge.
We know we have a problem when we ask Siri more than we ask God.
Yes, we do thank God for the amazing tools He’s given us in this century. Google and other search engines are such time-savers, giving us information we need or at least pointing us in the right direction.
But it’s the quantity and dependence that can swamp us. In these times of fast news, trying to keep up with everything is like drinking from the proverbial firehose. More information is available than we can handle. It comes to us faster than we have the ability to take in.
What can God teach us when we’re already worn out from trying to learn more, more, more, all the time?
Take an Informational Sabbath
Just as God directed His people in the Old Testament to take a Sabbath rest, we can benefit from a regular Sabbath, too.
While the Jews took a weekly Sabbath from anything considered work, our Sabbath choices might look different today.
Many still choose to do no major work one day a week. Others may take a week’s fast from all social media. Or unplug periodically from all technology. (There are apps like Mute for your digital detox goals, offline vacation B&B’s, and even technology rehab facilities to help you break internet addictions.)
Because of our addiction to gathering more and more information, maybe we need an occasional informational sabbath. Not just from Google, but a break from our need-to-know in general.
When we hunger for knowledge more than we hunger for God, we need to take a step back. Being smart is good, but being sanctified is better.
- Rest your brain so your heart can rejoice in Christ.
I grew up in a head-oriented faith tradition, but I learned in adulthood there is great delight and value in also releasing my heart to worship Christ. Love God with more than your mind: also include your heart and soul (Matthew 22:37). - Periodically set down the studying so you can just sit with Jesus.
Sometimes we need to set down even our Bibles so we can soak in Jesus more directly (John 5:39-40). Worship Him. Talk with Him. Listen to Him. Knowing about God and knowing God can be two different things. Make time for both. - Give knowledge some time to digest.
Knowledge isn’t the same thing as wisdom. Just as we need time in between meals for our food to digest, let God use time to turn what you already know into wisdom, before you haul in another pile of information (Lamentations 3:25).
We can grow our faith by trusting God in sabbatical breaks.
In an informational Sabbath, we can release our desire to constantly know more and always be right. We can let go of our quest for power and our need to stay in control. We can make peace with uncertainty and our fear of the unknown.
Because, in the stillness, we can remember that God already knows what was, what is, and what it to come.
Less Google, More God
So click off Google now and again. During your Sabbath break, trust God to let you know what you need to know, when you need to know it.
God created us to stop for breaths. He doesn’t expect us to keep learning 24 hours a day. He knows we’re happier (and smarter!) when we take a Sabbath rest in Him instead of trying to do everything on our own.
We can never know enough to be good enough on our own. Our brains are finite. His is infinite. We can’t think our way into heaven.
Who we know matters more than what we know.
Keep learning, but remember that learning is not a goal in itself. Changing into the image of Christ is.
Knowledge by itself does not save us. It leads us to the One who can: Christ the living Truth (John 8:32).
Thankfully we don’t have to figure everything out. God already has. He knows it all. And we know Him.
That’s what we most need to know.
Read More:
- Series – Lord of the Sabbath
See all the posts in our Sabbath series - A Daily Dose to Overcome Anxiety
God gave them a daily dose of manna for their journey. He gives us a daily dose of grace for ours. - 3 Things to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
Learn 3 things you can do when you just don’t know what to do. Grow your faith even when you’re uncertain.
Are you an information hoarder? What do you wish God would tell you right now? How do you make peace with not knowing? Please share your thoughts in the comments.