Related Topics: Formation | More Messages from Dr. Shaun King

From Series: "Rhythm"

There is a rhythm to everything that exists. The universe, and all that is in it. Galaxies, suns, moons, stars. Everything that is made has pattern and pace. Timing and tempo. Rhyme and reason. Can you sense it? Hear it? Feel it? Just take a look around you for a moment. The oceans ebb and flow; the seasons come and go. They have their own schedule. They keep time to a certain rhythm. And it’s not just around you. It’s in you. Pay attention to your breathing for a moment. Your lungs breathe in and breathe out some 17 to 21,000 times in a single day; and most of the time without you even knowing it. Can you feel your heartbeat? Can you hear it work? Your heart will pound (on average) anywhere from 86 to 144,000 times today. Each time, constricting and releasing, squeezing and letting go. And this pattern…this routine…this rhythm… is what sustains life. Want to get really crazy? Think about this. It’s not just the vital organs like hearts and lungs. It’s every other subtle system in your body. There is a rhythm to our blinking, our chewing, our sleeping, our waking. Even in the tiniest, unseen particles; the sub-atomic matter that courses through our bodies, and makes up our cells. That too has a schedule to keep. A rhythm to respect. Making it possible to heal wounds, regenerate skin, and even grow hair. The point? Rhythm is how you’re put together. Is it any wonder why, when life gets out of sync and we get off-beat, it feels like we’re falling apart? Think about the sheer number of commitments your family has in the span of a normal week. All of which may be valuable and completely necessary. (Or so we assume.) The kids have homework each night that must be checked. But they can’t start on it until 9:00 or so, because after school they have club duties, and then ball practice, which is every night. And by the time they get home, it’s 8:30 or later. So they choke something down for dinner, rush through their homework, and then crash in bed, all in order to get up the next morning and do it all over again. And that’s just the kids. You have your jobs, which can be, what, 50 or 60 + hours each week. Then there is taking care of the home, paying the bills, getting the groceries. Then a string of meetings to attend all through the week because of all the positions that you said yes to, which at the time sounded like a great idea 6 months ago. And you’ve got to go to the gym time…to work off the fast food you had to get on your way to those meetings. Then there’s finding time to tend the marriage. Trying to spend time with family or friends. And oh, yeah, if there’s any time left and we don’t have a tournament, we’d like to hit church at least twice this month. When Jesus said “I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly,” is that what he had in mind? What is it that calibrates your life? Who sets the timing and adjusts the pace? How do you know if you’re moving too fast or too slow? When it’s time to start one thing or stop another? Speed things up, or slow things down? In the Bible, there is a collection of wisdom sayings entitled “Ecclesiastes.” In it, the ancient writer puts it this way: For everything there is a season, and a timing for every matter under heaven: a time to be born…and a time to die;
 a time to plant…and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build back up there is a time to weep…but there is also a time to laugh; a time to mourn, yes…but also a time to dance. a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
 a time to embrace (to hold on tight to the ones we love), and a time to refrain from embracing; (to not hold on so tight) a time to seek… lose;
to keep…to throw away; a time to tear…to sew;
to speak and to keep silent. a time for love, for hate;
for war, for peace. There is a rhythm that makes sense; a tempo that gives life. And it can be learned. Jesus said, “come to me all of you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”