The Unforced Rhythms of Grace

“My yoke is easy, my burden is light”

You know those long exhausting days that end with your body aching with fatigue. You want a long hot soak in the tub to soothe them away and a place for your weary mind to be switched off. Lying in the sun by the pool or at the beach on a hot summer day has the same relaxing effect. The brain slows down, this message connects to the rest of the body and you unwind from the pressures that have built up within you. This is the reason we all long for vacation time.

Funny, I used to think weekends were meant for unwinding but all too often they are simply when you stay at the same speed and the duties are just transferred from the work setting to the home setting!

Where then is the place of freedom from anxiety, where worry is left behind and the burdens that we carry on our shoulders/heart can be left behind? Why did Jesus say many times to be free from worry and anxiety? Solomon said in his book of Proverbs how heavy the weight of worry was to carry. So many books are written on it but it remains very difficult to put into practice. Faith, trust, freedom – words that depict what this looks like for those who have a relationship with Jesus. Wounded or dysfunctional human relationships have programmed the wrong picture for us on how these words are to be lived out in reality in a Divine relationship.

I do not know the answers, yet I see the words in God’s Word and I want to know how to literally experience this in my life. I worry far too much, I am anxious and my body, my mind and my heart pay a premium price for it. A price none of us were meant to pay. How does one live in the Shalom, the peace that passes understanding, and let God do the carrying of things that are in his control in the first place? How do I do my part in the action of living out this life of faith, trust and freedom becoming light and salt, and a mirror of God’s love? How do I literally lay down the “burdens” that make my heart heavy and get in the way of my relationship with a Holy God who has so much more to show me from his heart while I am on earth?

Last week, due to working a stretch of days together, I was able to put 2 weekends back to back add a holiday Monday, allowing 5 consecutive days off work. It was a good time to do a juice fast/detox that I had been waiting to do. I was all prepared for the battles of hunger and the struggles of anxiety that have come with fasting before. What took place was something quite different. Peace; slowing down and relaxing. Laughter – why God even took me dancing on the beach! The most monumental piece of it all was that every single worry, every niggling doubt was completely removed from my mind. For the first time in my life I literally had the weight lifted from my shoulders! The bodily weight loss was but a small symbol of the weight lifted off of my heart. Literally I FELT what it means to experience what Jesus says about his burden being light. Powerfully I experienced the presence of Jesus in a new way that has me smiling about it every time I ponder it. Relaxing and enjoying the company of God – why should that be such a novel idea? Pondering it I am searching to know how to live this way more. How to live with those “unforced rhythms of grace” that The Message describes.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll 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 11:26-30 The Message

This is an experience far too deep to give justice to with words. For now this is a surface way to describe something that has more to it than I can comprehend at this moment. What I do know is we were designed to live this way. It is part of the freedom cry of the Spirit within me – live as originally designed to. Live in the unforced rhythms of grace.