The Weekly Word – Find your rhythms with God

By Robert Williams, Lead Pastor at The Bridge Church

In music, they say that you naturally gravitate toward one of two things, rhythm or pitch. If you are strong in one of those areas, you will usually need to work harder at the other.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always had a natural talent for rhythm. Don’t get me wrong, I can discern when an instrumental or vocal part is off-key or out of tune. I just feel rhythm a lot more naturally than I hear pitch.

Rhythm is vitally important, though! Rhythm is what keeps the whole band in step with one another. And when the whole band is locked in, we don’t just call it rhythm, we call it a groove. You don’t just play within the groove, you feel the groove.

As a drummer myself, I can’t even begin to describe how gratifying it is – how awesome it is – how almost spiritual-like it is when you are hitting a groove in just the right way with the rest of the band.

But then, on the other end of the spectrum, when the rhythm section isn’t locked in, it’s a complete disaster. Sometimes, it literally sounds like a train-wreck. If you’ve ever been to a middle school band concert, you probably know what I’m talking about (ha ha).

When the rhythm is off in a band or music that I am listening to it drives me nuts! It literally makes me uncomfortable, like a huge elephant in the room that I cannot seem to ignore. It’s horrible.

But did you know that our spiritual lives are much the same way?

Our rhythms matter in life. Specifically, if we don’t create a healthy rhythm to commune with God and others, everything falls apart. Don’t believe me? Listen to the words of Jesus:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

– Matthew 37:40

To love something or someone comes with implications. When we say we love someone, we show it by investing time and energy into that relationship. We have rhythms that push us toward them and build intimacy with them.

And Jesus says that to love God and people are the two most important commandments within all of life. “All of the law and prophets hang on these two commandments.” In other words, without these rhythms, everything God commanded in Scripture falls apart.

This last week at The Bridge, we talked about the importance of the rhythms that Jesus modeled. Rhythms aren’t extra things we do – they are a part of our lives and who we are. Because of who we are and what we believe, we do these things, … and Jesus modeled some awesome rhythms for us that we should all strive to imitate.

Specifically, Jesus did five things on a regular basis to B.L.E.S.S. God and those around him. He (B) began each day with prayer, (L) listened to God and the needs of others, (E) ate [eat] together with people on a regular basis, (S) spoke life into their lives, and (S) Sabbath-ed or rested on a regular basis. Jesus was great at taking naps!

Begin with prayer. Listen to God and others. Eat Together. Speak Life. Sabbath. Five simple rhythms that Jesus modeled that also have the potential to keep us in tune with God and His calling on our lives.

All this to say that rhythms really do matter, and Jesus gave us some great rhythms that we should try to imitate in our lives. When we do this, we become the fulness of Christ that fills everything in every way like Paul talked about in Ephesians (1:23). When we do this, we become just like the hands and feet of Jesus.

What healthy rhythms do you need to begin practicing in your life? What unhealthy rhythms do you need to cut out of your life? If we don’t ask these questions, it could throw us off, along with the rest of the band around us. Think about it.