There is a rhythm to your life. It may not be a good rhythm, but either way, a regular, repeated pattern has formed. When you get up, what you do in the morning, your commute to work, what you do first when you get home, what you watch, how you wind down. We tend to find a regular, repeated pattern. Most likely, we don’t think much about it; the rhythm just forms, and eventually a routine is made, and in a routine, habits are formed. And our habits shape who we are. For something so important, we should give it more attention. The rhythms of our life shouldn’t just happen—they need to be intentionally made. Rhythms are the heartbeat behind our development. And ironically, our hearts also beat in a rhythm. At least they’re supposed to.
A "heartbeat out of rhythm" is referred to as an arrhythmia, meaning your heart beats irregularly, too fast, or too slow, often causing a sensation of skipping beats or palpitations. This could mean your heart is not pumping enough blood to your body, which can cause bigger problems. Being in rhythm is important, both physically and spiritually.
When your heart is out of rhythm, an electrical cardioversion is done with a defibrillator. It gives an electrical shock to the heart to change the rhythm back to normal. Well, what about when your life is out of rhythm? What about when the routine that you have fallen into day in and day out is not helpful? Your soul is not getting the resources it needs to fuel joy, and peace, and contentment, and hope. What if you are tired all the time, but it’s not due to a lack of sleep or nutrition? It’s a deep exhaustion. Maybe you know exactly what I’m talking about?
As we enter this new year, we all want to be better people or improve in some way. We would love to bear more fruit of the Spirit, see a greater harvest of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control. But desire alone will not do it. We change over time through habits, through the rhythms of our lives, which we need to be more intentional in forming.
After Christmas, on December 29, we are going to start a four-week rhythms series that we hope will serve as an electrical cardioversion for our spiritual arrhythmia. Perhaps over this past year, your Bible reading, prayer, worship, and missional living have gotten out of rhythm. It’s sporadic and irregular, often skipping beats, and your soul is not getting the nourishment it needs. We hope this series will help shock you back into rhythms that feed your soul. Or maybe you have been doing great in your rhythms; we hope this series will further spur you on to continue those strong in 2025. But don’t just make it a point to attend this series. Instead, let this series be a catalyst for a plan you make for soul-feeding rhythms in your life. Check out the recommended Rhythms resources in the Bookstore. Write out the routine you want instead of just falling into the one the world pushes you toward. Tell your connection group about your plan. Ask for accountability.
There is a rhythm to spiritual growth. It is not built upon camp experiences or spaced out meaningful moments on a Sunday morning. It is built upon our daily routines. And the life of our church is not wrapped up in our facilities or programming. It is found in the abiding of our people—that is, our closeness to Jesus. A church full of people engaged in soul-feeding rhythms is the key to a thriving faith community. If we want to see real revival in our community, let’s start with shocking our own hearts back into rhythm.