A rhythm that brings life
Series: Simple. Quiet. Present. | Bible text: Genesis 1:4–5
God has embedded his creation – including us humans – in a rhythm. If we pay attention to these cycles, we can strengthen our body, our memory, our emotions and our spirit. A life that brings forth life is not just activity or just rest, but a balanced interplay of both elements. We take Jesus as our role model: the most productive person in history always took time for regeneration. Rest and quiet time with God are productive, even if it doesn’t seem so at first glance.
«He (God) separated the light from the darkness and called the light «day» and the darkness ’night». It became evening and it became morning, that was the first day» (Genesis 1:4–5 New Testament).
The first fundamental order of creation is rhythm
We experience this rhythm every day. We see cycles everywhere in God’s creation – in the vast universe as well as on a microscopic scale. Many cells have an internal clock with a circadian rhythm. Muscle, nerve and immune cells send rhythmic calcium impulses. Here is the most well-known and vital rhythm for humans Heart rhythm. The last thing you want to see is when it disappears. The heart with its rhythm is a true Life giver.
In endurance sports, you train your heart and muscles for maximum performance. That’s exactly what I wanted to achieve two years ago when I got a starting place in a cycling marathon. My goal was a continuous increase in performance with a peak on the day of the event.
A destructive rhythm
In the first three months, I noticed an increase in performance, but despite more intensive training, my performance subsequently slumped. What did I do wrong? The training itself wasn’t wrong – but I didn’t give my body the rest it needed. The rest periods were too short. My rhythm was not synchronised. The body needs stimulation, but growth occurs during rest.
My mistake was that I didn’t listen to my body. As a child, I never learnt to pay attention to my body’s signals. That wasn’t an option in my parents» house. We had our own bakery. Customers didn’t come into the shop at seven in the morning to ask how the baker was doing – they came to buy their croissants or bread.
My father knew that. That’s why he kept on working despite his poor health. Illness or fever were simply ignored and he fought his way through. As far as I remember, my father only missed work three mornings – and each of those three times he had a heart attack. Listening to his body was not an option.
That’s something I picked up from my parents. And I’m still learning how to listen to my body. That’s why I bought myself a sports watch.
Even as a trained commercial vehicle mechanic, I had to learn that my body is not comparable to a machine. Mechanics is mechanical – life is organic and dynamic. God has givenThe vaccination was given a rhythm.
My drop in performance was due to two fundamental mistakes. The first was not listening to my body, which led me to fall out of my Growth rhythm to get caught up. The second mistake was that I listened to a twenty-five-year-old YouTuber – a professional and exceptional talent with seemingly endless energy. His tips were not suitable for athletes my age; he had no idea.
In life, who and what we listen to is crucial. We are right when we look to people who have experienced similar difficulties to us.
The Bible tells us about a person who was very similar to us:
«Jesus is not a high priest who cannot understand us in our weakness.he could not. Rather, he was – just like us – exposed to temptations of all kinds, but with the crucial difference that he remained sinless» (Hebrews 4:15 New Testament).
«But because all these children are nowhe, too, has become a man of flesh and blood» (Hebrews 2:14 New Testament).
Jesus exemplified the life-giving rhythm
The physical rhythm
Jesus was a human being and – like us – had to kRecover physically. This is reported in the Gospel of John. «Tired from the journey, Jesus sat down at the well» (John 4:6 New Testament).
Jesus needed rest just like us, and we also know that he needed sleep. Although we find no indication in the Bible as to what time he usually went to bed, it is clearly reported that he slept.
«But Jesus was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat» (Mark 4:38).
Not so cool for the disciples, who were completely stressed and feared for their lives.
The emotional rhythm
When Jesus heard that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist, he deliberately withdrew. He needed a emotional pauseto process the grief and took time to calm down.
«When Jesus said the hhe withdrew; he travelled by boat to a lonely place to be alone» (Matthew 14:13 New Testament).
He needed this time to process the news emotionally. Because he had taken this time, he was ready to allow feelings again. Just one verse later we read:
«When Jesus got out of the boat and saw the many people, he was moved with compassion and he healed the sick» (Matthew 14:14 New Testament).
Wow – Jesus healed people because he felt their suffering. He had taken a break and that is precisely why he was able to feel again. The temptation is great not to take this time. If we don’t invest in recognising our own emotions, they become more and more shallow. We feel them less and less, and our hearts begin to harden emotionally.
The mental rhythm
Jesus also laid Mental breaks in. Although we do not find any passages in the Bible that explicitly state this, we do see in several passages that he withdrew after long periods of intensive teaching. And the very fact that he was a human being like us shows us that he also needed mental rest.
«He became a man of flesh and blood» (Hebrews 2:14 New Testament).
The spiritual rhythm
Jesus» miracles and healings were spiritual acts – in a sense spiritual work. And again and again we see that after such moments of strength and devotion, he takes time for Peace and quiet indulged.
«Early in the morning, when it was still vWhen it was completely dark, Jesus got up, left «the house» and went to a lonely place to pray» (Mark 1:35 New Testament).
On the evening before the Bible text mentioned, Jesus had a healing service. Although he had recovered physically through sleep, he still sought prayer. Sleep strengthens the body, but Jesus knew that he also needed spiritual strength – strength that comes from restorative and renewing prayer.
Jesus was the most sought-after person in Judea, Galilee and even beyond – more sought-after than a CEO or president. And yet he allowed himself do not burn out. He lived in a physical, mental and spiritual state. Rhythm of work and relaxation. He also took time for his feelings, allowed himself emotional breaks and consciously felt his inner emotions.
A life-giving rhythm Life
A fulfilled life is linked to a life-bringing rhythm – a daily rhythm, weekly rhythm, annual rhythm and even a rhythm of life. These rhythms include times of work and times of regenerative rest. Rest is not unproductive.
What does this mean in practical terms for our everyday spiritual life? A life that brings forth life consists not only of activity and not only of rest, but of a harmonised rhythm of both.
Living as a Christian does not mean simply waiting for God to take us to heaven. Nor does it mean working non-stop because we can «rest in heaven». Rather, a Christian lives in an alternating rhythm that brings forth life – because God himself has created life in this way.
Everyday life is not always easy; we encounter difficulties time and again. But God leads us through these challenges and it is precisely these that make us stronger. Our hope grows – for great things and for even greater things.
«We are also pleased about the Nthe hardships we are going through now. For we know that adversity teaches us to persevere, and those who have learnt to persevere are tried and tested, and being tried and tested strengthens hope. And we will not be disappointed in our hope. For God has given us the Holy Spirit and through him has filled our hearts with the certainty that he loves us» (Romans 5:3–5 New Testament).
Patience builds strength of character, and strength of character breeds hope. We go through cycles like this again and again, through which we become more and more stable. Work and difficulties are part of our lives and we take Jesus as our role model: the most productive person in history always took time for regeneration. Rest and quiet time with God are productive, even if it doesn’t seem so at first glance.
Possible questions for the small group
- Do you tend to be active or do you prefer to relax?
- What do you think when you read «Be still»?
- What do you feel when you read «Be still»?
- When you are very busy, do you sometimes feel guilty when you take time for silence?
- Where do you see God’s rhythm in nature, where in people?
- Are you moving in a life-bringing rhythm? In which areas and in which areas not? Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual?
