LIVING IN THE RHYTHM OF HEAVEN

 Elizabeth A. Nixon, Esq.

It was when I was in my late 30s, just as it was for many of you, that I began re-assessing. Not because I was dissatisfied – I was very happily married and had a great career that held a lot of promise. But there did seem to be a lot of striving. Work really was work. Being tired was becoming more familiar to me than feeling refreshed or relaxed. The pace of each day was getting out of control. Hurry up and get out the door in the morning, fight traffic, hurry up and get work done, make that call, hurry up and get off the phone, eat something, hurry, hurry, hurry. Even falling asleep was more a state of “get to sleep, quick” because there weren’t many hours left before I’d have to get up again. Where was that rest that the Lord promised?

I began searching the Word. I began searching in a way I never had before, not really even sure what I was looking for. When I would come across a verse that gave a direct instruction, I would get stuck there. What was it really saying? How could I do what it was saying?

Then I came across all the Kingdom of Heaven verses, including Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and then all these things will be added unto you.” There were many things that I needed. In fact, I had a long, long list of things I needed: money, time, stuff. So I knew that if I was going to get those things I had to begin to seek the Kingdom. The problem was that I didn’t really know what that meant. The question I kept asking myself was, “What is the Kingdom?” In the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:10, Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” but for me it begged the question, What is His Kingdom? If it is going to come on earth, what does that look like? I needed to know, in real, everyday, practical terms. But as I researched the Kingdom, it became more amorphous and undefinable.

The Bible says in Matthew 13 that the Kingdom of Heaven is “like a mustard seed ” which, though being the smallest of all seeds, grows to become the largest tree and shelter for birds of the air. It is also “like the man finding the pearl of great price,” who upon finding this pearl is willing to sell everything he has in order to buy the field where the pearl is hidden. And again, the Kingdom is “like yeast,” where it only takes a very small amount to effect a whole loaf of bread. Apparently, according to Matthew 5:3, the poor in spirit inherit it. 

The Kingdom is “like” a lot of things but none that made sense to my analytical mind. It wasn’t until I allowed my understanding of the Kingdom to be less of a physical, concrete thing and be more of a concept, that I was able to comprehend it. I had been looking for a blueprint, like building plans for a house. I wanted to know where the front door was – how do I get in; I wanted to know where the bedroom was – where do we rest and find intimacy?

Then, strangely, as I let my mind contemplate the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, I began to think about the legend of King Arthur and Camelot. In history and cultural myth, there is an ancient city called Camelot where King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table reigned. The legend is that this king and his city stood for Truth, Honor, Loyalty, Justice, Chivalry and Equality. It was not a place where “might made right,” but rather where they used “might for right.” There is much discussion about whether King Arthur was a king or not, and even if he was real. There is much legend about the city of Camelot and where it might have been. But despite the fact that Arthur and Camelot may never have really existed, the ideals of Camelot persist and pervade.

I understood the legend of Camelot and its utopian ideals. We relate to it as a place where people can be their absolute best, where opportunities can be taken by the horn and where dreams are realized. This is “like” the Kingdom of Heaven. In such a place, a tiny mustard seed can grow to become the largest tree. For such a place, I would sell everything to buy the field where the pearl of great price is found.

This was my “ah-HAH” moment. This was the conceptual approach I needed for the Kingdom of Heaven. I suddenly understood the Kingdom of Heaven’s ethereal reality in the same way we relate to the ideals of the legend of King Arthur’s Camelot, except the Kingdom of Heaven is real and accessible now. Thinking like this opened up my own spirit; I could feel myself expanding. When I think of the Kingdom with this mindset, I literally believe anything is possible.

This simple way of relating to the Kingdom opened up the spirit realm like a floodgate. Once I let go of trying to understand with my mind, that’s when I discovered how to access the spirit. The truth of the nature of the Kingdom of God awakened my spirit.

One morning, instead of hurry, hurry, hurry, I chose to lie on the floor of my room and soak. I thought it would be hard to lie still, but I was so tired, I found myself able to relax and just listen to the music. As I did, I felt as if the worship music was unfolding around me, it sounded as though angels were singing along. I could feel the sun on my skin, the carpet was soft underneath me, and then, something changed in the atmosphere. It happened. I connected. I was flooded with peace, as if the whole world stood still and there wasn’t any more “stuff” that I had to be doing. Everything went quiet. I was breathing but there was a new rhythm to my breath, and I did not want to lose this – ever!

It’s funny. I had this very long list of things that I needed. I kept this list very close by in my mind at all times because even though I was seeking the Kingdom, I was doing it in order to get all the things on my list. When I found the Kingdom, I didn’t forget the list, but I did put it away. Because, in a moment, I had become the mustard seed full of promise and potential. Anything was possible. In a moment, I wanted to sell everything to stay in this place. I had found something more valuable than the stuff I had been looking for.

Over the next months, I chose to be intentional about staying in this level of peace and I was amazed how practical God’s Kingdom became. Instead of speeding to an appointment, I asked the Lord to either help me be on time or give me grace with the people I was meeting. I slowed down. It removed the panic that had become a natural part of my every day.

I began to call this “Living in the Rhythm of Heaven.” Each night as I fell asleep, I committed the next day to the Lord. I declared that He had authority over my day. I declared: no more wasted time, no more spinning wheels. I took authority over every little detail, the traffic, phone calls, client appointments, lunchtime crowds. I took back the authority over my life. I decided that I was no longer going to live in anxiety, fueled by caffeine and anxious about every minute and every dollar. The miracle? It actually worked!

Here’s how it looked in my everyday life:

I stopped speeding in the car.

I stopped freaking out about the work in piles on my desk.

I stopped making excuses.

I focused on the work I was doing.

I stopped being annoyed with people in general.

I found time to hang out with my husband – and not feel guilty or be distracted.

I was able to fall asleep at night.

If I was driving to a meeting and I had gotten away from the office late, or if the traffic was heavy (I lived in Los Angeles at the time – the traffic was always heavy), I kept the attitude that if the Lord did in fact rule my day, then that meant my day would be governed by peace; therefore, if I needed to be on time, somehow I would be. So I slowed down. I did not panic and I chose not to be annoyed with traffic lights. Instead I listened to music, I smiled, I waved to pedestrians, I wasn’t aggressive in traffic – I enjoyed my time. Plain and Simple. If I was going to be late, I prayed that the Lord would give me favor with whomever I was meeting. But what was interesting is that more often than not, the other person was running late while I got there on time. And because I had a peaceful attitude, I would reassure them when they arrived flustered. We would relax, chat and laugh before getting down to business.

I had stepped out of the way the world strives and into the way the Kingdom breathes. And this new Rhythm of Heaven was not only changing my life, it was affecting those I was doing business with!

In 1 Corinthians 4:20, Paul describes the Kingdom. Confirming my new perspective that the Kingdom is less a concrete place to discover and travel to, but rather more of an ideal or belief to shape your life by, the meaning of the word “Kingdom” as used here in 1 Corinthians 4:20 is referring, not so much to a physical place but more to a state or way of being. It would be best described as an attitude or rightful authority and is best explained by example:

EG: When you go home to your house, you unlock the door and go right in, you go straight to the refrigerator or cupboard and pull out whatever food you want, you flop down on the couch and put your feet up, you watch what you want to watch on the television. It’s your home, you have rightful authority to do as you please and, not with an arrogant attitude but with an appropriate “this is my place” attitude, you make yourself at home. In comparison, if you were visiting someone else’s home, especially for the first time, these would not be rights or privileges that you could freely or appropriately exercise. You would need to ask permission rather than assume and exert your authority or right to any privilege that home would afford.

In the same way, as members of the Kingdom of God, we get to “live in the Kingdom” with the same attitude and rightful authority you have over your own home. This means that we get to assume the right to everything that the Kingdom of God has to offer. This means that we can expect to take advantage of everything in the Kingdom as if it is ours … because it is ours!

What does that look like? 

Matthew 13:45-46 tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure worth selling everything for in order to possess it. So it has value beyond anything you currently have.

Matthew 13:31 says it is like the mustard seed which, though it is the tiniest of all seeds, grows into the largest of all trees and provides shelter to the birds of the air. This is a picture of me and you, of our faith, of our own talent, skill and ability; even though we may see ourselves as so small as to be worthless, yet in the Kingdom of Heaven we can become great and provide essential care and protection for others who are vulnerable with no place to call their own.

Even more practically,

Romans 14:17 says that the Kingdom of Heaven is not just a matter of what we eat or drink, for those things are truly superficial. This is true, you can eat the finest of foods and drink the most expensive wines, but if there is strife in your home, or anguish in your heart, they cannot truly soothe or restore. But, Romans 14:17 continues with, “the Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Yes! This is where the life is! To be made righteous means that we have been made friends with God. We live a life in peace and joy. In a state of true peace and joy, the benefits of great food and wine are like icing on the cake, but even if we only had dry bread and water, when your soul and heart are at peace, even bread and water are appreciated for the sustenance and strength they can bring.

Applying this principle to your every day means that you can adopt the attitude of the Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn’t matter what other people think about you or your life because you know that you and your family and the lifestyle you choose are treasures worth abandoning everything the world thinks is important, in order to enjoy it properly and fully. It also doesn’t matter whether or not you are a small, unimportant person with an uneventful life; when you live with the attitude that the world is yours to take by storm, and that God is fully on your side, then anything is possible and you can grow from insignificant to truly significant.

The Kingdom of Heaven is a “live as if” principle that actually enables you to create your best self, your ideal life. It is what Jesus meant when He taught us how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:10, where he said to God the Father, “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What is God’s Will for us? What is it that, by the way we live, think, breathe and act, we can cause to become reality in our life? I believe it is everything we associate with and know to be true about Heaven: it is a place were there is no more sadness, no more pain, no more sickness or death, no more debt, no financial crises, no more arguing or need for defensiveness, no more worry or anxiety.

Imagine being able to live life that way. Imagine truly not having to accept those things in your life. How would you be different? For me, my days opened up like fresh air that I was no longer afraid to breath. Somehow even the floor felt different under my feet, it became solid again. I wasn’t walking around on eggshells, always afraid of others, of bills, of time, or circumstances.

The way I thought and walked and talked changed. How I saw my circumstances, how I saw other people, how I viewed life – all radically changed. I believe this is what Paul meant when he said in 1 Corinthians 4:20: “The Kingdom of God is not just words, but power.” And as the Contemporary English Version of the Bible states it, the Kingdom of God is not “just a lot of words,” that is, it is not just a bunch of hot air. It is power, and that word “power” in the Greek means strength and ability. It means the power for performing miracles. It means moral power and excellence of soul. It is the power and influence that belong to wealth and riches, and the power associated with vast numbers in an army at war. 

When we discover the Kingdom of Heaven and this new attitude, this new way of being, when we are able to adopt the ability to see beyond events and circumstances and to take authority over our life and exert this 1 Corinthians 4:20 kind of power – the power to perform miracles, the ability to influence our life with the kind of authority a king or queen exudes, the kind of power that a huge army can impose simply by its presence, that’s when we have the opportunity to truly live.

One final thought on the Kingdom of Heaven is this. Matthew 10:7 declares, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This reference to “at hand” is not time-oriented, that is, this verse is not saying “the Kingdom of Heaven will come soon.” Rather, it is a space or location reference, as in distance. This verse is saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is so close to you in proximity that if you just put your hand out, you can touch it.” I have found this to be true. The Kingdom of Heaven is so much closer than you dare to believe.

If you stop and listen, you can hear the breath of the Father, you can hear the rhythm of His heartbeat – the Rhythm of Heaven, and in that place, you, too, can find your new Way of Being.

PRAYER DIRECTIVE FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST

1. Pray into the Kingdom of Heaven verses referenced in this article – and pray expectantly “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.”  God’s Word is alive, His Kingdom is present, and if you are not experiencing it daily, change that with an intentional attitude to Live in the Rhythm of Heaven.
2. Pray that as you begin to walk in this new rhythm, it overflows into the lives of your family and of those you work with, and that you begin to see physical change in your atmosphere – wherever you go.

PRAYER DIRECTIVES FOR CSA-XP MINISTRIES

As CSA-XP Ministries intensifies its focus on missions and media, pray for the invasion of the Kingdom of Heaven! The sex trade rescue operations in Thailand and Cambodia are ripe for the continuing and increasing manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The media opportunities for Patricia King – her TV programs, her media and media training staff are taking on the raising up and releasing of God’s Media & His Media Army – pray that they are truly able to release the “at hand” nature of the Kingdom, such that lives, nations and mountains will cry out “His Kingdom is come.”