Heartbeat

Listen.
Stop what you're doing and listen.
There is a rhythm.
A beat.
It resonates throughout the body. Through the spirit. Through the soul.
We all have it.
We all live by the beat.
It calls to us.
It cries out.
It often whispers gently.
Sometimes we don't acknowledge it.
Sometimes we refuse it.
Sometimes we shun it.
Sometimes we condemn others for their beat.
Sometimes we think that because your beat isn't the same as my beat that there must be something wrong with it.
Sometimes we think that our beat is the only way, the only way to produce the music of the soul.
And then we miss out on the fullness of the song.
The depth.
The beauty.
The power.
And we miss the point.

We were created with this beat.
It's the beat of the Father.
His heart.
His love.
His rhythm.
Our beat is our worship.
Our song.
Our heart and love expressed.
And we praise Him.
Our beat underlines our song, our music.
It is fast, it is slow.
It is loud, it is quiet.
And when it is muffled, it is distorted and power is lost.
It happens too often.
And we need to be careful not to snuff out the heartbeat of the Father in the name of tradition, comfort level or preference.
From Miriam leading the women of Israel in song with their timbrels (a type of drum, similar to what we would use today referred to as a tambourine ~ see Exodus 15), to the Psalms encouraging us to praise and worship with horn, strings, lyre, drums, pipes and cymbals (see Psalm 150), to the word spoken about using psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit (see Ephesians 5:19), the beat lives on.
Open your ears and hear it.
Open your heart and accept it.
Let go of yourself and be in Him.
Feel and know the Father's heartbeat.
For nothing, ever, will steal the beat.

Listen.
Stop what you're doing and listen.
His heart beats for you.
And your heart beats for Him.