The Secret to a Life That Doesn’t Wither|09.21.25|Beating Burnout pt.3

I have a tree in my yard that drops branches all the time. And until I moved here to Illinois, I actually didn’t know that trees did this.

I mean, I knew that branches fall, but I honestly thought it was because of big winds or harsh storms. But this tree drops branches like my one year old drops half of her snack that she’s done with.

“Don’t need this anymore.” *drop*

And when I’m out there collecting the branches to put them into my burn pile, I can see why the tree drops them: they’re brittle, hollow, and dead inside.

They weren’t producing leaves or fruit or nuts or ANYTHING anymore. They were literally just dead weight.

But compare that with the branch that came down last year when we did have a pretty big wind storm. I have a black walnut tree on the corner of my property, and a huge branch was down, but part of it was still connected to the main tree, and you could see where it had twisted and ripped open.

And the fraction of the branch that was still attached was SOOOO strong and still holding on. I tried pulling it down, no luck. I tried yanking on it with my mower, no luck. It was still alive and strong and bendable and when I finally cut it down with a friend’s chainsaw…it was so HEAVY, and the air was filled with that citrus smell from the huge bunches of walnuts hanging from it.

There have been times in my life when I feel like the walnut branch: strong, lush, pliable and even able to weather a storm. And then there are times when I feel more hollow…brittle.

But how do we make sure not to become so withered that we simply drop out of life? What fills us with life and fruit?

As we’ll see in our Scripture passage today, Sabbath is God’s gift to us that keeps us connected to him as the source of full life. We’ve been spending this month learning about the spiritual habit of Sabbath because we know that the world is designed to work us to the bone, never letting us stop or rest.

But it’s not just restlessness and overwork that saps the life from our bodies. We’re being drained by the ugliness of injustice, war, mass violence, crushing poverty, and more.

There’s a pastor from New York City, named Tim Keller, who said, “Because the world is full of ugly things, we need the Sabbath to feed our soul with beauty.”

The world is full of ugliness, but it’s also full of goodness.

[Genesis 2:2-3]

In the beginning, God created everything and he “saw that it was very good.” That word “good” can also be translated as “beautiful.”

And then God rested on the seventh day. He sabbathed, not because he was TIRED, but to DELIGHT in what he had made. He “blessed” the day. That word “to bless” means to “make happy.” He made the day one of happiness and delight.

And as we’ll see today, Sabbath keeps us connected to Jesus so that our lives don’t wither but overflow with joy and love.

[Four steps of Sabbath]

These last few weeks, we’ve been talking about the 4 movements of Sabbath: stop, rest, delight, and worship. The first two help us learn what NOT to do on the Sabbath. These next two help us learn what TO do.

Because the Sabbath is a happy day, a holy day, blessed by God for the purpose of delighting in the life God has created and continues to create around us.

[Scripture Ref]

From the beginning of creation, that’s the pattern God set, 6 days of work and one day of rest that helps us sustain our lives, and Jesus picks up that pattern in our Scripture passage today in John 15.

Jesus was always using everyday things to help explain heavenly concepts, and as we read this passage together, I want you to think of the dry, brittle branches that drop off trees. I want you to think about the parts of your life that feel withered. Because I think God is going to show us how Sabbath is a necessary piece of a life that is fruitful. Let’s read…

[John 15:1-11]

[John 15:1-2]

Jesus starts out by calling himself the TRUE vine. He’s trustworthy. He’s the source of life. And God the Father is the vinegrower, the vineyard worker. He’s the one who inspects the vine and makes sure it’s growing healthily and that the fruit is coming in as expected.

And if there are any branches that aren’t producing fruit, he removes them from the main vine. They’re cut off, because any good gardener knows that a branch that isn’t bearing fruit is actually just a drain on the resources of the plant. So it’s better to cut it off so the rest of the branches can benefit from the nutrients flowing through the vine.

[John 15:2-3]

But even the branches that ARE bearing fruit get a careful lookover by the vineyard worker. Jesus’ original hearers would have known way more about vineyards than me, so I thought it was super interesting when I found out that grape vineyards don’t produce a harvest for the first three years.

Most vineyard owners, when they plant a new vineyard, actually intentionally prune OFF the first few years worth of grapes. Because when the vine is just starting to grow, it’s still small and kind of flimsy, so the grapes that grow there are small and not really good for a harvest.

The branch isn’t strong enough to support a good size bunch of grapes. So the vineyard workers will intentionally prune back the branch to let it grow stronger for a whole season.

Then they repeat that the second year. By the third year, the vines are strong enough to support huge, juicy grapes in these incredible bunches.

The other day, I was getting grapes for one of my kids, and I had the bag from the super market, and I picked up ONE grape and pulled it out of the bag, and it seemed like the ENTIRE bag full of grapes came with it because it was all one huge bunch. And the vine still had life in it and was gripping tightly to these grapes that were just enormous and juicy.

And so when Jesus talks about pruning a branch, he’s talking about the Father who knows exactly how to bring about the best growth in our lives. He knows what needs to be cut back in us to produce the best LIFE. And the word “prune” can also be translated as “cleanse.”

So, with a branch, you think of “cleansing” it by removing unneeded extra growth, pruning it so all the nutrients can go into the area that produces the fruit that is desired.

But in verse 3, we see “cleanse” mentioned again. Slightly different word in the greek, but from the same root word as “to prune.” This word “cleanse” means to be purified from impurities, like when precious metals are melted down so that you can remove the impurities and produce a stronger, clearer result.

When the New Testament writers use this word “cleanse” to talk about a person, they’re talking about being cleansed from moral guilt. They’re talking about how God removes the unnecessary impurities, sometimes cutting them off from the extremities of our life, sometimes melting us down to scoop them out of our hearts so that we can come out the other side stronger and purer.

[John 15:4]

But all of that pruning and cleansing is just so that the remaining branches can ABIDE, can stay connected to the main vine. “Abide in me, as I abide in you.”

REMAIN with me. Stay with me. Dwell in my presence. The main focus is on being WITH Jesus.

And he connects it to the plant image, “Just as the branch CANNOT bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, stays with the vine, remains connected to the vine…neither can you bear fruit in your life unless you remain connected to me.”

And for you greek language nerds, I have a word for you: dunamis. It’s where we get DYNAMITE from. It means power, ability.

And when Jesus says, “just as the branch CANNOT bear fruit,” in the greek he says, “just as the branch is WITHOUT POWER (ou dunatai) to bear fruit…”

He’s like, “if you see a branch that isn’t connected to the main vine. It’s been cut off. It’s fallen to the ground. You look at it and you know that it is literally INCAPABLE of bearing fruit now. It can’t do it! It lacks the power needed to produce fruit.”

[John 15:5]

But if you stay connected to the vine, if you stay connected to ME, you WILL bear much fruit. But separate from me…working independently of me…working that overtime and hitting the hustle and the grind…apart from Jesus, leads to a life that feels worn out, withered, and brittle.

[John 15:6-7]

Because God is a good gardener, and he knows how to bring about the best harvest in our lives, so he’s going to toss out the parts of our lives that are withered and useless.

All the farmers who gather the corn or the beans or the wheat…you gather the FRUIT that is what you’re doing all this for, and then you get rid of the chaff. Sure, maybe you can sell some of it to someone else who can come up with a use for it, but it’s not the FRUIT that you’re doing all this work for.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to try and exert myself for my whole life apart from being connected to Jesus just to find out that all my hard work and long hours and projects amount to a withered branch that is only good for kindling!

But if you abide in Jesus, if you remain connected to Jesus, even our will and our desires become conformed to the heart of God. The more we dwell in the presence of Jesus, our wishes become God’s wishes, and our asks become the type of fruit that God wants to bring in our life.

[John 15:8]

And when we do this, when we ABIDE, it gives glory to God. “My Father is glorified by this: that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” The more we stay connected to God and live in his rhythms of work and rest, the more we bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

And the more we live as a disciple of Jesus, as an apprentice of Jesus, patterning every part of our lives after his way of life, THAT gives glory to God. THAT points everyone we meet to the good news of who Jesus is and how he saved us.

[John 15:9-10]

And HOW do we abide in the love of Jesus? HOW do we remain connected to him? By keeping his commandments. By living the way of life he’s outlining for the Kingdom of God. Because when you live in the WAY of the kingdom of God, then you remain in the atmosphere of the kingdom of God, which is love.

[John 15:11]

He’s going to reiterate what he means by his commands in verse 12: “love as I have loved you.” But here in v11, we see that when we live this way, when we remain connected to Jesus, his JOY remains in us.

And our joy will be complete – filled full. If your life has a joy bucket, remaining connected to Jesus will fill your joy bucket full to overflowing!

[Sabbath keeps us connected]

Sabbath refills the bucket of joy in our lives that the world drains, because Sabbath keeps us connected to Jesus.

See, Jesus knows that we can only live the life we were created for if we remain connected to his Spirit. And that life of connected abiding is a necessary aspect of becoming people of love.

Our life in the world saturates us with filth and despair. Everywhere we look, there is violence and hatred. And the sediment that collects in the gutters of this human experience is what is thrown at us everywhere we turn.

But Sabbath is a weekly rebellion against the ugliness, to reconnect with the beauty of our Creator, to be re-created and have our joy be filled up so that we can engage the world with the fruit of the Spirit rather than with the scratchy, withered tatters of a soul that has been sucked dry by the world.

Apart from Jesus we wither, but Sabbath keeps us connected.

Sabbath is also part of the way that God prunes us by helping us say no to these distractions and unnecessary parts of life, these extra things that tack on to us over the course of time. He helps prune those back to reconnect us to the source of life where our greatest depth and fruit is.

[blank]

We need Sabbath so that we don’t end up like a withered branch. And maybe you’re listening to me right now, and you feel kind of withered.

You’re holding on, but your life is kind of bare. No fruit. Not even any leaves to provide shade. Just a skeleton of what your life used to be.

Or maybe some of your life is healthy, but when you look at the tree, there are definitely some weak and withered branches. Maybe your relationships look fractured and brittle.

If you were climbing that tree, there’s no way you’d put any weight on that branch, because it might break. There’s no way you’re going to put any weight on that relationship, because it might break.

Or maybe your work-life isn’t what it used to be. It feels like you’re just going through the motions, but it’s not producing anything anymore. It’s not producing joy or purpose or satisfaction or fulfillment.

It’s just…there. You’re just holding on, waiting for a big wind to break it off.

But Sabbath keeps us connected to Jesus so our lives don’t wither, but overflow with joy and love.

A life that is connected to the source is strong, supple, flexible. Like when the grapes were all connected, it boggles your mind how all those grapes can be from a SINGLE bunch, a single spot on the branch.

But that’s what a fruitful branch produces. It’s abundant, and surprising, and heavy-laden. A fruitful branch bends low to give its fruit. A fruitful branch has fruit drop off it all the time because it’s got so much!

It doesn’t matter if it drops to the ground, or into the hand of a passerby, or into the grasp of an animal. It’s all good, because I’ve got more than enough to go around.

And when our lives bend low with the fruit of the Spirit, our joy is in Jesus and our joy is filled full as others are blessed with the abundance of our life.

[Four steps of Sabbath]

And so, as we continue to learn how to practice the presence of Jesus through Sabbath, we need to pick our Sabbath window. We need to pick the day, or the portion of the day, that is set aside as sacred and holy.

Maybe it’s Sunday, and we are starting the day worshipping God together. But we need to pick what things we will STOP on our Sabbath so that we can experience REST.

And then we get to pick what things we can ADD to our Sabbath that allow us to experience DELIGHT. What things allow us to experience joy from Jesus?

For anyone that is new to Sabbath, a great question to ask yourself is: “What could I do that would bring me deep JOY in God?”

Psychologists have a great label for when you save up a bunch of your favorite experiences for a single moment, such as your birthday or anniversary or vacation. They call it “pleasure stacking.”

The Sabbath is a day for pleasure stacking.

In our house, our Sabbath has usually been on Saturdays, and our kids get a special “Sabbath drink” to start the day: hot chocolate! And we try to eat well on the Sabbath, or have a special family movie together, or see the people we love.

[Traditional Sabbath Delight]

There are all sorts of traditional Sabbath activities that you could practice to bring delight into your time:

Feasting on good food is definitely the most common and popular, and for good reason.

Community, gathering with the people you love, whether it’s family or close friends.

Practicing Gratitude, where you focus on what you have (not on what you need or lack or want), but just gratefully recognize what you have already and realize just how rich your life is.

Play is another thing to bring delight. My spiritual director asked me recently, what would 8-year-old Drew do to have fun on the Sabbath? It brought up all sorts of memories and ideas of climbing trees and playing pretend.

Making love to your spouse can absolutely be a way to delight on the Sabbath. In fact, in ancient guidelines for Jewish rabbis, there was a command for every couple to make love every Friday night!

Enjoying nature, really ANYTHING beautiful, from forest trails to flower petals…all of it is wonderful ways to bring beauty to your soul.

The point is that God WANTS to fill your life with joy and love. Sabbath is one of His ways for doing that, and for keeping your life connected to Him, the source of life.

Sabbath is the way that we stay connected to the source of life, so that our lives never dry out, hollow out, wither, and crumble.

[Practice Sabbath delight]

So, this week, practice Sabbath delight: pick one joy-filled activity that re-creates you and connects you to God. I had a mentor once tell me that the best recreational activities to do on a Sabbath are ones that re-create us.

For me personally, cooking is a thing that is delight-filled, joy-filled. I delight in the activity of it. I experience joy in sharing that meal with others. I have fun experimenting with new flavors and new methods. And so, at the end of a long cooking session on the Sabbath, it actually makes me feel satisfied. It fills full my joy.

So what is re-creational for you? What can you DELIGHT in on the Sabbath? How can you reconnect with God, abiding with him, so that the source of life flows through you again?

Before you leave today, write it down. That way, you can pick your Sabbath window, put away your distractions, and then go do that thing…cook, walk, play music, share a meal, sit by the river.

When we make it a regular practice to choose Sabbath activities that increase our joy, connect us to God, re-create us…then we will actually grow in our desire to connect with God. Because the more that we connect with God, the more we WANT to connect with God.

[end]

It's like after you've been traveling and all you've had is fast food and gas station food. All you've had is processed food. All you've had are things that are microwavable.

And then you come home or go to someone's house and have a home-cooked meal with real ingredients and a normal amount of salt, all of a sudden you realize what food was meant to taste like.

The more you eat real food, the less you have a taste for processed food. The more that we turn to God through Sabbath activities that re-create us, the less we experience hunger for these other things that do not satisfy. Because Jesus is the true vine that is the source of life.

Because even though I COULD binge Netflix or scroll on my phone to “rest” on my day off, I know that doesn’t rejuvenate me or re-energize me. Sure, it distracts me or numbs me from the weight of the week, but it doesn’t refuel me.

That’s why we NEED to practice Sabbath. Because when our only downtime is endless scrolling or binging shows or numbing out through alcohol, over time we end up becoming twisted towards those things. We become these anemic, withered versions of ourselves.

We become like plants that have grown in a basement devoid of light. It's not strong. It's not resilient. It's kind of sad, weak, pale. Over time, a soul that has only ever been distracted and numbed will never be healed or strengthened.

That's not the witness that Jesus is calling us to be. I don't want to be a church that's full of dry branches. I want to be a church full of strong, old trees that bend low with their fruit, that provide resources for the kingdom of God, and look like a beautiful garden, look like the Garden of Eden, that welcomes others into the life that God created for them.

That’s what Jesus is talking about when he invites us to ABIDE in him. The more we follow his rhythm of six days of work and one day of Sabbath rest, the stronger we grow.

The longer a bush or a tree stays planted in good soil connected to a root system, the stronger and thicker it becomes. The less it bends with winds and storms, the less likely it is to get uprooted. Not only that, but its root system also strengthens the ground that it's connected to, stopping erosion and mudslides from happening.

So the longer that our church lives out Sabbath and stays connected to Jesus, the stronger and thicker our faith and our connection becomes, which strengthens the foundation of our community to be the type of people who withstand the storms of life, provide shade for others, and fruit to feed and nourish.

It gives us the image of the Tree of Life in Revelation, where the branches are strong, the fruit is abundant, and the leaves are used for healing for the nations.

Jesus is inviting you right now to develop a practice of Sabbath, to trust him enough to STOP your striving, to REST from you work, and to DELIGHT in him, to ABIDE in him… “so that [his] joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete,” full, true.

Sabbath keeps us connected to Jesus, so that our lives don’t wither but they overflow with joy and love.

Isn’t that good news?