Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you will recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
Anxiety, stress, depression, sickness, disease, emotional torment and a constant striving to please. Even in Jesus’ day these were some of the heavy burdens that people carried around.
I used to do counselling at a government clinic and heard so many sad life stories there from people who were so tired of living. They were really hurting. I noticed something interesting about my clients – they all suffered from disturbed sleep. Not one of them could actually sleep through the night without some form of medication. The discordant noise within their souls would not quiet down enough for them to switch off peacefully for the night. Their circadian (sleep) rhythms were in disharmony. Disharmony in our lives doesn’t only affect our sleep, but every part of us.
The definition of Harmony:
the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce a pleasing effect;
the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole;
the state of being in agreement or concord
(similar to peace, fellowship, friendship, cooperation and oneness).
The earth was created by the voice of Almighty God, and it brims with natural vibrational energy. Whenever you walk barefoot on the grass or on the beach, for instance, you are connecting to this good energy and it flows into your body. This can help to restore harmony to your biological rhythms. It helps to restore your heart’s rhythm. Nature itself is a symphonic antioxidant! That’s why you feel so peaceful and recharged when you’ve been walking in a forest, for instance.
Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God,
Deuteronomy 10:14 (AMPC)
the earth also, with all that is in it and on it.
11 All the heavens and everything on earth belong to you, for you are the Creator of all that is seen and unseen.
Psalms 89:11-12 (Passion Translation NT)
12 The four corners of the earth were put in place by you.
You made the majestic mountains that are still shouting their praises to your name.
The earth carries the vibration of the voice of the King of Heaven. It is singing a song that is in harmony with heaven.
38 They shouted over and over, “Highest praises to God for the one who comes as King in the name of the Lord! Heaven’s peace and glory from the highest realm now comes to us!” 39 Some Jewish religious leaders who stood off from the procession said to Jesus, “Teacher, you must order your followers at once to stop saying these things!” 40 Jesus responded, “Listen to me. If my followers were silenced, the very stones would break forth with praises!”
Luke 19:38-40 (Passion Translation NT)
Nature’s foods are not only nutritious – they are also alive with this energy. When you eat them they help to restore your body’s natural rhythms too. (Manufactured food carries a vibration that is in disharmony with your body). Just being out in the natural sunlight is good for you – I have always found the winter sun to be so comforting, like a big brother putting his arms around you and telling you that everything is going to be okay. Lying on your back on the grass at night and gazing up at the stars, fills you with peace and awe. Holding hands with someone who loves you brings calmness and wellbeing to your soul and body too.
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face,
Isaiah 6:1-3 (KJV)
and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Stressful thoughts and feelings is bad energy stored up in your body. Tension. Like the string on a harp pulled so tightly that it’s about to snap – it will not produce a harmonious or pleasing sound and it vibrates throughout every part of you, bringing disharmony and discord to your whole man – an internal and unpleasant noise. Activities such as running, dancing, riding a horse, going for a walk, gardening, listening to beautiful music, eating healthy food, breathing fresh ocean air, having wholesome fun with friends and family – are wonderful ways to ease that tension by releasing bad energy and filling up with good energy. Helping to restore harmony. Yet it’s not enough. As Paul said in the book of Corinthians, let me show you a way of life that is best of all… and it’s actually so simple!
In our opening scripture, Jesus told us how. He said, “Come to Me. Get away with Me and you will recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me – watch how I do it.”
True life comes from walking in step with Him. In order to walk with Jesus, our thinking and our doing must be in agreement and cooperation with Him (can two walk together unless they agree..? Amos 3:3). When our thoughts and actions are synchronized with Heaven, our lives create a beautiful melody, a song of praise. This does not happen overnight, it is a process. As you get away with Him He will teach you how to think like He thinks and do like He does. This is the work of His Holy Spirit, to guide you into all truth.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Isaiah 55:7-8 (NIV)
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
It is a process of neglecting your way of thinking and doing, and filling your mind with His thoughts and His ways. He is not a hard taskmaster, standing with a whip in His hands to beat you for every mistake that you make. Rather, He will patiently teach you to “live freely and lightly” and in oneness with Him.
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power.
Hebrews 4:12 (AMPC)
That Greek word for power is energés. Energy! Jesus is the Word that came to earth as a man. He was Life and He brimmed with the very power of God. Sick and hurting people were always trying to touch Him so that this energés could heal them. And everyone who touched Him in this way was made whole. Imagine walking through this world holding hands with Life Himself, taking every step with the One who loves you.
It is possible to take advantage of godly principles and practices even if you are not born again. Spending time in nature calms everyone. Eating healthy food will benefit everyone. Thinking good thoughts will be good for everyone. Acts of kindness will improve everyone’s life. The Los Angeles Times recently reported the opening of a new UCLA kindness research institute – the first of its kind in the world – to teach people to show kindness, because research has shown that it’s so good for their wellbeing. It has now been scientifically proven that acts of kindness make you healthier, reduce depression, significantly ease anxiety, reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease and protect against infection. Meditation and deep breathing is found to lower anxiety and promote sleep. It has also been discovered that fasting is excellent for your health. These are all godly principles that the world is tapping into.
But what I am talking about goes beyond just thinking good thoughts and doing good deeds. There is no true and lasting life without the cross of Christ. The cross is like an enormous blood-stained bridge that carries us across from a realm of darkness to a realm of light, from death to life, from the earthly to the Heavenly, from the natural to the supernatural and from the temporary to the eternal . We have access to a whole new way of living once we have crossed over the bridge into this Kingdom!
Beside Jesus, one of the people in the Bible that lived in harmony with Heaven was Stephen. In Acts 6 we are told that Stephen was a man full of faith, full of Holy Spirit and full of power and he did great wonders and miracles among the people. While on trial by the people and being falsely accused by them, those who looked at him saw that he had the face of an angel – he radiated Heaven. Not long before he was stoned, he looked into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. As they were stoning him, Stephen asked Jesus for two things: to not charge this sin against the people and that Jesus would receive his spirit – Heaven is our eternal home. He walked in forgiveness, even to the very last step! He trusted Jesus completely, even to the very last breath!
It is so critical to spend time with Jesus so that we can see as He sees and so that we can hear what He is saying. Hearing His voice always brings order out of chaos. He invites us to pour our hearts out before Him, release that tension to Him. Through His blood we can come confidently to the very throne of God. He wants us to pray about all of our needs and hand them over to Him. He never designed us to be burden bearers, carrying anxiety. That’s why it makes us so sick in our bodies and minds. When we try to do it we are living in disharmony with our design! When we say one thing but deep in our hearts believe something else, we are in disharmony too and become unstable – up one moment and down the next. The solution for that problem is the same – saturate your thoughts with heavenly realities (Colossians 3:1) so that they fill your heart and flow out of your mouth.
Any area where our thoughts are in disharmony with the King of Heaven, we become vulnerable to the prince of this earth. This is what spending time in the Word does – it brings my mind and heart back into harmony with the heartbeat of the Father. It will free me from sin, corrupted identity, unforgiveness, and anything else. Knowing truth sets me free. The Word will deliver you from demonic oppression by changing your thought life and teaching you to take up your authority in Him.
I know when I am in disharmony. I know when I need to spend more time with the Father – if there is fear, anxiety, depression, stress, anger, confusion, strife, offense or impatience creeping into my life. I need to hear His voice; I need to receive His direction. Sometimes I just need Him to hold me. His voice and His touch release His life into me and restores my song . The Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, joy and peace in His Holy Spirit. These are available to us as we walk with Him.
If you are struggling with your walk, God is not mad with you. He is not condemning you for being in disharmony. Jesus is praying for you and His Holy Spirit is working to guide you into truth. God paid the highest price for you, and His desire is for you to be free. God is long-suffering with you and will not just release you out of His hands because you have failed again. The “unforced rhythms of grace” is not about striving for perfection, trying desperately to please – but about learning to yield daily to His Holy Spirit. It is a process of learning to live in harmony with Heaven. He is waiting for you to come to Him, so that He can teach you how.
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! LORD, they walk in the light of Your face.
Psalm 89:15 (NASB)
The Lord bless you and keep you, cause His face to shine upon you, and give you peace.