Rhythm Of Life

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The Rhythm of Life

In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me. John 16:16

Before long, the world will not see me anymore. John 14:19

‘Before long’ is translated also from the words ‘in a little while’. It is a Greek translation from the word ‘micron’.

What is Jesus saying with ‘in a little while’? Is He talking about:

His crucifixion and resurrection
the out pouring of the Holy Spirit 6 weeks later
His second coming, meanwhile 2000 years later and it still has to happen.

This 2000 years is nothing in compare to the eternity, it is a micron, just a little flash.

I think Jesus is talking about all three. Jesus is trying to get us into an understanding that there is a rhythm in our life that belongs to these ‘little whiles’. There are changes, rhythms and patterns in our lives, that God has established. God wants us to flow in these patterns of live, and as we flow in them we receive His life, His energy and the empowering to be the people God wants us to be.

Basically there is an outline for in John 15:5-6 ‘I am the vine; you are the branches, If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ If we remain in Jesus, Jesus gives us the provision we need (the fruit, energy, security) so we can move on. We are the branches, that takes a period of time to grow. And once the fruit is been born in the believers life, God comes and clips of the branches. Our lives seems to fall away. But God is calling us

in that time of trouble and difficulty,

in that time of returning and retreating,

in that time of repentance and seeking God again.

He is calling us back

to remain in Jesus.

to abide in Him,

to abide in His love and in His Word.

The pattern is not only mentioned in Johns Gospel it is right in the very beginning of creation. Genesis 1:26 ‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” and in 2:15 ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’. God made people to be fruitful and productive. After the creation of man on the 6th day the very first experience of man was the 7th day. The first thing humans did was to rest with God (Genesis 2:2 ‘….so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.’) Out of that rest God said be fruitful and be productive. This rhythm we can find in the whole OT. The pattern of people moving out into productivity, adventure and exploration with God. And all these time of action comes to an end! And they draw back to God as He calls them to himself so that they can rest in Him, allowing the river of life to over-flow them and take all Gods blessings that re-power and re-energize them. From that place of rest they move on again and doing what God called them to do.

If we look at the ministry of Jesus we can also see this pattern of being fruitful and productive. Jesus is healing the sick. But on the next day they couldn’t find him. ‘Very early in the morning, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed’. Mark 1:35 That pattern was the natural pattern of the life of Jesus, to work and retreat with his Father. Luke 5:16 ‘But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’

Jesus knew that he had come to do work, but in the midst of his work he knew he had to retreat. He took his disciples with him on retreat. So they engaged to what the Father was doing, to go back and be with God and rest with God and return to God, to hear from God and to receive from God, so that they could move on again.

This pattern is lost by this generation:

Most people get up to late so they cannot spend any time with God.
Most people stay up to late so they cannot spend any time with God.
Most people crashes through the week and hope they make it to the weekend. And when they make it to the weekend they are just as busy as a normal day, it is only a different kind of work. Life has became a cycle of a constant striving activity! And what it does is producing a deep insecurity and lays people open for great temptation. Because we don’t rest in God anymore, we miss the opportunities to go back to God and rest in him. The pattern is broken, the rhythm is gone. We are looking for rest in our holidays, watching television. etc. but we cannot find true rest anymore.

What happens if we brake this pattern? There are examples in the bible when God called somebody for action and they didn’t take the call, they stayed back and didn’t do what God called them to do.

II Samuel 11:1 ‘In the spring, at time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army………But David remained in Jerusalem’

There was a time that kings supposed to go to war, get active and to get going! He did not go in the flow and in the rhythm of Gods life. Therefor David did not receive Gods provision and protection in what he was doing and totally expose himself into a trap of temptation.

David should not have been there, he should been on the battle field, but because David was not on the battle field Gods protection was not extended to him. He had violated the rhythm that God called him to, from rest into activity. David was resting instead of being active.

Because David was out of the rhythm he saw a woman bathing and noticed that she was very beautiful (V.2). He inquired her, he was obsessed by her (V.3). He yielded into temptation, he was carried away by his lust, and slept with her (V.4). In a period of time David broke several commandments from God: Adultery and murder, all because of he was just hanging around doing nothing! From that moment David’s whole future changed:

His first son of Bathsheba died
Incest and later murder in his family
Betrayed by his best friend. Psalm 55:13 ‘But it is you a man like myself, my companion, my close friend. Who was this friend? It was his counselor Athithophel. Athithophel was the father of Eliam who was married with Bathsheba.

Often we are resting instead of being active for the Lord, so you’re exposed into temptations and because your life has not yet developed the security system that God has for you, you look for security in other things, you look for comfort in other things and you take the comfort wherever it might be: in sex, in career, in material etc. The other way around is also possible, you are very active for the Lord but it is your period of rest.

You know that game where people are attached with a elastic band, they have to run forward to grab something, after a while they get tired and they don’t make it anymore.

God has attached us to an elastic band of his grace and love. We can run away from God and we can crash around with no idea of the rhythm of live that God has for us. We can come back to God willingly or reductively. We can come back to God and embrace in him and allow him to built up our security in him or God just drag us back. We all know what it is to be dragged back by God!

What is it what God wants us to do? God wants us to live an ordered life, with a rhythm and a pattern. A life that is balanced.

Is there a time to spend with each other?
Is there a time that you can return and rest in God?
Do you do that as individuals or is the day too hectic?
Is your week the kind of a week that is able to draw into a time of rest so you can return to God?
Or is your week just chaotic with no structure and no framework?
Is there a time when you can return and rest with God?
In what stage are you this week, year: rest or activity?

There is a call on our lives to life this way, to this rhythm of rest and activity. Jesus lived this way. Jesus said it is all about ‘a little while’, it is al about living a life of a measured rhythm ‘a little while of this, a little while of that’ and in the midst of all to know his presence, to know his protection and to know his provision.

Patrick Frank van der Heijden