The Heartbeat of Jesus

This past year, despite all the hurt and disappointment, was a season marked by spiritual learning for me. As someone who genuinely loves learning and had just graduated college, I was thankful for another source in my thirst for knowledge. 

Now, I wouldn’t say that I’m a teacher, or would ever really want to be a teacher, but in August while having quiet time a whole teaching/devotional came to me, and as I wrote it down I could imagine myself sharing it to others. So here goes. 

It started with the phrase “the heartbeat of Jesus,”

That may sound strange since Jesus was at one time a physical being but is now in Heaven, but stick with me. I see this phrase having many layers we can draw from it to inspire a deeper relationship with God. 

First, aligning with the heartbeat of Jesus, means being in tune with God’s rhythm and timing. 

If you’ve been a Christian for a few months or a few decades then you know that God never works in the time frame or pace that you expect Him to. This can easily be frustrating and discouraging. But if we can pace ourselves with God and understand that His perspective is so much farther zoomed out, it turns our hearts away from doubt and towards trust.

Sometimes we need quiet and solitude to hear God’s heart, or even our own, and my favorite setting to listen is in nature. That’s where I feel most connected to God, where I see His timing in the decades-old trees and mountains formed over millennia. It brings me to the line, “If all I know of harvest is that it’s worth my patience, then if you’re not done working, God I’m not done waiting,” from Hillsong Worship’s “Seasons.” God almost always takes longer to execute His plans for us than we would like. But trusting Him means saying yes to that unfamiliar pace. 

Second, it means to acknowledge and connect with God’s heart for us.

Considering God’s heart is not new or original in Christianity by any means, but sometimes remembering that God is a living being who is the source of love, joy and intimacy can really bring us closer to Him. There are multiple times throughout the Bible when God is moved by the prayers and pleas of His people, and His plans are changed in mercy and love. Those stories give us so much insight into how deeply God is for us and this world. As His people, we are called to not only love God, but love each other as He loves each of us. As the song “So Will I” goes, “I can see your heart eight billion different ways, every precious one a child you died to save, if you gave your life to love them so will I,” 

Committing our lives to God means accepting His love and mercy for us, but also recognizing that love is also meant for every other person He has purposefully created. 

Third, and last, the heartbeat of Jesus guides us to accept and enjoy the life God gives.

The words in Genesis 1 of God “speaking” the world into existence are extremely powerful. They remind us that God is the source of life through His words and breath. God offers us not only His creative life but a life redeemed and free. “Life to the full,” as John 10:10 puts it. 

Sometimes we get stuck on trying not to fall into sin, lengthening our record of daily time in the Word, or figuring out what our calling is. But we can simply be thankful for and enjoy the life of freedom from sin that Jesus died for.

In the garden, God didn’t command Adam and Eve with a long to-do list, all He asked was for them to multiply and subdue the Earth. All God wants is for us to walk through life with Him, relying on His forgiveness and strength to carry us forward, sharing the easy yoke.

To end, here’s a guided prayer. Follow along with me-

Place your hand over your heart and feel it beating; sit with it. Listen to the rhythm. Thank God for his perfect timing, and ask for the grace to submit our fast pace and timelines to Him. 

Feel the warmth. Imagine rays of God’s love bursting out of His heart for His people. Ask God for more of His love, to see the world and people the way He does when it is hard for us to love them in our own strength. 

Take a deep breath. Thank God for the life He constantly gives us access to, the grace, freedom, joy and power we receive from living out of His lightness and strength, not our own. Ask Him to remind you of his promise of living water and a light yoke when you feel weary and dry. Thank Him for being our kind heavenly Father. 

Amen.

Author | Caroline Barnes