How to Honor the Sabbath in Your Business
For years, I thought honoring the Sabbath meant attending worship on Saturday and not working that one day. But the rest of my week? Hustle. Grind. Push through. Work until exhaustion. Because that’s what “serious” entrepreneurs do, right?
Wrong.
After 16 years of caregiving, three bouts of sepsis, and rebuilding my life from scratch at 57 in Las Vegas, I finally understand what Sabbath actually means. And why it’s not just a nice idea—it’s a command that changes everything about how we build businesses.
God didn’t suggest rest. He commanded it. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Not “rest if you have time.” Not “rest once you’ve earned it.” Remember. Keep it holy.
For me, that means honoring Saturday as biblical Sabbath—Friday sundown through Saturday sundown. No work. No email. No client calls. No exceptions. This isn’t about legalism. It’s about obedience to God’s design. It’s about building a business that honors His rhythm for rest and work.
And if Sabbath is holy—set apart, sacred, non-negotiable—then our businesses need to be built around it, not in spite of it. This isn’t just about taking one day off. This is about designing your entire business model to protect sacred rest.
Let me show you how.
Why Sabbath Isn’t Optional
I used to think Sabbath was for people who had the luxury of rest. People who didn’t have bills to pay, clients to serve, deadlines to meet. I thought rest was something you earned after you’d worked hard enough.
But Sabbath isn’t a reward. It’s a rhythm.
God rested on the seventh day. Not because He was tired. Not because He’d earned it. But because rest is part of the created order. Work six days. Rest one. That’s the pattern. That’s the design.
And when we ignore that design, we break. I know because I did. For 16 years, I didn’t rest. I pushed through exhaustion, ignored my body’s warnings, made rest last priority. And my body eventually forced me to stop. Three bouts of sepsis. Complete burnout. A life I didn’t recognize anymore.
My body was screaming what I refused to hear: rest is not optional.
Sabbath isn’t optional. It’s protective.
It protects your body from breaking. It protects your mind from burnout. It protects your relationships from neglect. It protects your business from being built on a foundation of depletion.
When you honor Sabbath, you’re not being lazy. You’re being obedient. You’re not being unproductive. You’re being wise. You’re not losing momentum. You’re creating sustainability.
Sabbath is how you build a business that lasts—because you last.
What Sabbath-Honoring Business Actually Means
Honoring the Sabbath in your business doesn’t just mean “don’t work on Saturday.” It means designing your entire business model so that rest is protected, not sacrificed.
Here’s what that looks like:
Your Sabbath is non-negotiable. You don’t schedule client calls during Sabbath hours. You don’t respond to emails from Friday sundown through Saturday sundown. You don’t check Slack or social media for work. Your Sabbath is sacred. Period. If someone needs Sabbath availability, they’re not your client.
You don’t build emergency-responsive models. If your business requires you to be “on call” 24/7, it’s not Sabbath-honoring. You design your services so that emergencies don’t exist—or if they do, you have systems in place so you’re not the one responding on Sabbath.
You batch your work strategically. Instead of spreading client work across seven days, you batch it into focused work days. Sunday through Thursday might be client-facing. Friday morning is admin and planning. Friday afternoon is Sabbath prep. You work smarter, not longer.
You build in margin. You don’t book yourself at 100% capacity. You leave space. You build buffers. You protect your energy by not overcommitting. Because when you’re at capacity, rest becomes impossible.
Your business serves your life, not the other way around. Your business exists to support the life God called you to live—a life that includes rest, worship, family, community, and presence. If your business requires you to sacrifice those things, it’s not aligned.
Practical Ways to Protect Your Sabbath
Let me get specific. Here are the exact strategies I use to honor Sabbath in my business:
1. Set Clear Boundaries in Your Client Agreements
Your contracts should explicitly state your availability. “Client calls are available Sunday through Thursday, 9am-4pm. I observe biblical Sabbath and do not work from Friday sundown through Saturday sundown.” This isn’t negotiable. It’s part of your terms. If a client needs Sabbath availability, they’re not your ideal client.
2. Turn Off Notifications Before Sabbath Begins
Delete work apps from your phone or set “Do Not Disturb” schedules starting Friday afternoon. Email, Slack, project management tools—none of it during Sabbath. You can’t rest if your phone is buzzing with work notifications. Protect your attention. Protect your peace.
3. Don’t Launch or Sell During Sabbath
If you’re launching a program, don’t open the cart on a Saturday. If you’re running a webinar, don’t schedule it during Sabbath hours. Honor the Sabbath in your marketing calendar too. Your launch will be just as successful on Sunday—and you’ll have honored rest.
4. Batch Content Creation
Set aside one or two days per week to create all your content. Write your blog posts, record your videos, schedule your social media. Then the rest of the week, you’re just showing up—not scrambling to create in real time. And you can schedule posts to publish on Saturday without YOU working.
5. Build Evergreen Income Streams
Digital products, courses, memberships—these allow you to earn while you rest. You create them once, and they work for you during Sabbath. You’re not trading time for money, so rest doesn’t mean zero income.
6. Hire or Automate What You Can
If certain tasks need to continue during Sabbath (like social media posting or customer service), hire someone or automate it. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Stewardship includes knowing when to delegate.
7. Plan Your Sabbath Intentionally
Don’t just “not work.” Actively plan rest. Saturday morning tea by the window. A walk in nature. Time with family. Worship. Reading. Whatever fills your soul—schedule it. Sabbath is active rest, not just absence of work.
Your Sabbath Audit: Three Questions to Ask
Before you move forward, pause and ask yourself:
- If I couldn’t work during Sabbath for the next 90 days, what would need to change in my business model?
- What am I currently doing on Saturdays that could be batched, delegated, or eliminated?
- What does restful, restorative Sabbath actually look like for me—not just absence of work, but active rest?
Answer these honestly. Then design your business around those answers.
What to Do When You “Can’t Afford” to Rest
I know what you’re thinking. “That sounds great, Karen, but I can’t afford to not work on Saturdays. I need the money. I need the clients. I’m building something, and rest feels like a luxury I don’t have yet.”
I understand. I’ve been there. But here’s what I learned the hard way:
You can’t afford NOT to rest.
When you build a business on exhaustion, you’re building on sand. It won’t last. You’ll burn out. Your health will suffer. Your relationships will fracture. And eventually, your business will collapse—because you will collapse.
Sabbath isn’t a luxury. It’s a foundation. It’s what allows you to build something sustainable instead of something that consumes you.
And here’s the truth: when you honor Sabbath, God honors your obedience.
I’m not saying money will magically appear. I’m saying that when you build with wisdom, when you steward your resources well, when you trust God’s design for rest and work—He provides. Maybe not always how you expect. But He provides.
I’ve seen it in my own life. The weeks I protected my Sabbath most fiercely were the weeks my business grew most sustainably. Not because I worked more hours. But because I worked from a place of rest, clarity, and presence—not depletion.
Trust the rhythm. Protect the rest. Watch what God does.
The Proverbs 31 Woman Honored Sabbath
The Proverbs 31 woman is held up as the ultimate example of biblical womanhood. And she was incredibly productive—she ran a household, managed servants, bought fields, sold goods, cared for the poor.
But here’s what we miss: she wasn’t working seven days a week.
Jewish law commanded Sabbath rest. The Proverbs 31 woman honored it. She worked six days and rested one. That’s how she could “laugh without fear of the future” (Proverbs 31:25). That’s how her arms were strong. That’s how she was clothed with strength and dignity.
She built from overflow because she honored rest.
And we’re called to do the same. Not to hustle ourselves into exhaustion and call it faithfulness. But to work with wisdom, rest with intention, and trust God’s design for our lives.
This Is Kingdom Business
Honoring the Sabbath in your business isn’t just about time management. It’s about Kingdom alignment. It’s about saying, “God, I trust Your design. I trust that rest is productive. I trust that You’ll provide when I obey.”
It’s about building a business that reflects your faith, not just your ambition. A business that honors the temple of your body. A business that protects sacred rest. A business that creates the sovereign soft life.
This is what I’m teaching. This is what I’m building. This is what I’m living.
At 57, after decades of exhaustion and survival mode, and after rebuilding my life from scratch in Las Vegas, I’m finally learning what it means to build from rest. To honor Sabbath not as an afterthought, but as the foundation. To trust that God’s design works—even in business, even in the modern world, even when it feels countercultural.
And I’m inviting you to do the same.
Your Invitation
You don’t have to wait until you’re burned out to start honoring Sabbath. You don’t have to build a business that requires you to sacrifice rest. You don’t have to prove your devotion through exhaustion.
You can build differently. Starting now.
Set boundaries. Protect your Sabbath. Design your business around rest, not in spite of it. Trust the rhythm God established. And watch what happens when you build from overflow instead of depletion.
This is Sabbath-honoring business. This is Kingdom entrepreneurship. This is the sovereign soft life.
Welcome to building with wisdom. Let’s build Kingdom businesses that honor God’s design—together. 🦋💜
