Ep. 49 | The God of Rhythms | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 1:14-19. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Every story has a beginning. And if you don't understand the beginning, you'll likely misunderstand everything that follows. Welcome to Formed by the Word. Currently, we're going back to the very beginning as we look together at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters explain our world, our struggles, and much about ourselves. We'll see beauty and brokenness, purpose and pride, judgment and grace. We'll watch humanity fall and see that God already had a plan to restore his relationship with us. The Bible doesn't start with a problem, it starts with a perfect God, and that changes everything. So, wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, because the God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Genesis chapter one, beginning with verse 14. Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule over the day, and the lesser light to rule over the night as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. Evening came, and then morning the fourth day. Have you ever felt like life was just, well, nonstop? Seems like you're always busy, always behind, and always trying to catch up. Maybe it seems that your life has no clear rhythm, no real margin, and just constant motion. I've been there way too often. In the end, the result of this busyness is burnout, stress, and exhaustion. Well, on the fourth day of creation, God creates the sun, the moon, and the stars. As we think about that act, we come to understand that he's doing more than just filling the sky. He's actually setting a rhythm for life. We just read it. In the verse, God says, let there be lights to separate day from night. There's a rhythm of day and night. And then he adds, let them be for signs and for seasons. There's a rhythm to the seasons, right? And why is that? To mark days and years. Then he places the sun to rule the day, the moon to rule the night. There are several observations I want to take from these verses that I think maybe help us to understand this God of rhythms. The first thing I want you to see is that God created a rhythm for life. By separating the night and night, the day and night, I'm sorry, and the work in the light and the work in the darkness, God established an important rhythm in creation. These rhythms are not random, they're designed rhythms, right? Every 24 hours, light comes, darkness follows. Then the cycle repeats. Now here's another foundational principle, I think, for life that is helpful to understand, and that is that God designed life to move in rhythms, not constant motion. He didn't create things to be nonstop, but to go in cycles. The second thing I observe is that God appoints these seasons for lives. He says, let them be for seasons. These seasons include, of course, agricultural seasons, calendar seasons, appointed times. These seasons are important for several reasons. They remind us that life itself moves in seasons. There are seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall, of course, but there are also seasons of growth. There are seasons of waiting. There are seasons of joy, and there are seasons of difficulty. Not every season is the same, and that's by design. Different seasons serve different purposes. Third, I observe that God assigns order and authority. After creating these seasons, these rhythms, he says, let the sun rule the day and the moon will rule the night. Everything has a role, everything has a function, and everything has a purpose. God's rhythms are structured. They're not creative. There's an order about it. And when everything is in its place, life works the way God intended. So today's paragraph, this account of the creation of day four, reminds us that God creates rhythms and seasons so that we can live with balance, that we can live with trust and find purpose. And we know that God designed life to have these reasons, not chaos. You weren't designed for nonstop, my friend. You were designed for a rhythm that would include some rest, some pause. Every season in life has a purpose, even the hard ones. And when you find the season you're in, you frustrate what God is doing in your life if you fight against that. Well, let's try to make some application here. I think there's several things we can draw from the passage. One, I think I would encourage us all to embrace God's rhythm instead of resisting it. Are you living without a margin in your schedule? Are you living with without enough rest in your day or in your week? And are you constantly pushing and never pausing? You may be fighting God's design. Why not stop and ask? Do I have a rhythm of work and rest? Do I allow space for God in my day? Do I have a rhythm of recreation and work? Do I have a recreation of fun and discipline? Do I have a rhythm of prayer, a rhythm of Bible study, Bible reading in my life? Embrace God's rhythm instead of resisting it. Secondly, accept the season you're in right now. You know what? I'm always looking forward to the next season. It seems that my favorite season is the next. You know what I'm saying? When I'm in the middle of the summer, I enjoy summer, but I'm always can't wait for the fall. I'm excited for that next season of fall, or I'm excited in the fall about winter, or in the winter about spring, etc. But I think it would do well if I could learn to accept the season I'm in right now, not just winter, spring, summer, and fall. Maybe you're in a season of growth and development. Well, accept that season now. Sometimes that's a tough season, right? Because there are indeed growing pains and development means change, and we're not comfortable with either of those, but maybe you're in that season right now and you just need to accept that season. Maybe you're in a season of waiting. Which of us likes to wait? We always are looking forward to the next, but maybe we need to accept that season. Maybe you're in a season of healing. Maybe that healing is physically, mentally, emotionally, or even spiritually. Accept that. Maybe you're in a season that is hard, difficult. I know it's difficult, but embrace that. It strikes me that we often want that different season than the one we're in now, but the one we're in now is the one that is needful for us. You grow best when you embrace the season that God has you in. So embrace God's rhythm instead of resisting it. Accept the season you're in right now. And then third, trust God when seasons change. We should always remember that seasons don't last forever, right? Hard seasons come to an end, good seasons come to an end. In his journal called Ecclesiastes, in the third chapter, Solomon wrote these words, very poetic and famous. You'll remember them. He says, For everything there is a season. Well, the implication is that seasons come and seasons go. Well, what we see in Genesis is that in all the season, God remains constant. But the creation of these rhythms remind us of change that needs to happen. And then finally, build some healthy rhythms into your life. Instead of always reacting to life, living hurried and constantly overwhelmed, why not align your life with God's design? Why not calendar some daily time with Him, some daily, even weekly, consequential times of rest in your schedule? Take a nap. Slow down. Don't even feel guilty about that. And trust that God is with you in this season of life. Well, before we close, there is a little bit of a gospel in Genesis here that we could talk about. You see, even as creation reveals rhythm and Jesus invites us into that rhythm, well, we see that in the New Testament as well. In Matthew 11, 28, Jesus said to his followers, Come to me and I will give you rest. That's not just salvation, that's a new way of living. That's rest for your soul, that's a rhythm for your life, that's a peace in every season. That's the offer of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Come to me and I'll give you rest. Well, the takeaway for today is simply this. When you live in God's rhythm, remember you experience God's peace. When you live in God's rhythm, you experience God's peace. Let's pray. God help me slow down and live within the rhythm that you've created. Or teach me to embrace the season I'm in and trust you through it. Give me rest where I am weary and peace where I'm anxious. Align my life, Lord, with your design. Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.