Tested and Approved: 21 Lessons for Life and MinistrySample

Day 3: Live Your Life in a Godly Rhythm

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

How would you describe your current stress level? Have you set aside a day for rest each week? Are you the kind of person who takes your responsibilities seriously? Would you say you have a need to control people or situations? How good are you at delegating tasks to others? If you delegate, does it cause you anxiety?

When you read the above questions, how do you think they relate to the concept of “rhythm?" The answer is everything. You see, busy people get things done, and then they are given more to do. If you want to grow an organization, see it thrive, and expand your personal interests, then it will require that you learn to structure and prioritize your life in a godly rhythm.

Here is a simple truth about rhythm: there will always be more on your plate than you have time to do. You can keep saying, “Just one more thing, one more season, and then everything will return to normal.” Stop fooling yourself. Even if you finally finish this season, a new one is coming with new demands and responsibilities. If you don’t learn how to operate in this season, what makes you think tomorrow’s will be any better? 

The Lord handpicked Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and into the Promised Land. Moses took on the responsibility to resolve disputes and was often met with resistance both to him and to God. As the Hebrew people were on their journey, Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, approached him and asked why he sat with the people around him all day. Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God” (Exodus 18:15 NLT).

Jethro offered sage advice to help Moses resolve his rhythm problem. He told Moses to “look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens” (Exodus 18:21 NLT). When Moses followed Jethro’s advice, his life soon returned to a godly rhythm.

This passage of Scripture identifies another kind of enemy that stands in the way of a balanced rhythm in our lives. Moses told Jethro he was operating in the way he was “because the people want me.” Have you ever fallen into that trap? Your spouse or a good friend will ask you why you have to be the one to carry all the responsibilities. Then you respond that it is your job, as if the world will end if you don’t do everything put in front of you. The lie is that you’re the only person who can do something, and that lie is a rhythm killer.

Consider: What does your sabbath look like for you? Do you practice a regular day of rest? If not, why don’t you?

Father God, reveal to me the lie I have believed that derails godly rhythm in my life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.