Moving on to the second rhythm

It’s been great to talk with some of you about your experiences of blessing others.  I’ve enjoyed hearing stories of encouraging texts,  answers to prayer and blessing adventures. 

One thing that a few people have said to me is that the simple discipline of blessing is actually quite hard.  It’s tricky to remember to pray for someone each day.  It’s sometimes tough to respond generously to people.  It’s hard when we do something we think will be a blessing and it is not received as such by others.  It can be challenging to keep practising generosity when we’re not sure about our own resources.   To keep doing these things we will need to draw on God’s generosity.

All this moves us nicely onto our second Rhythm:  Receive and Release.  We want to be people who receive God’s presence in our everyday lives and who are able to share it with others.  Jesus called his disciples to come to him and rest, and he sent them to go into all the world.  If we want to be a blessing to others, we will need to learn how to let God bless us.

This second rhythm encourages us to make space in our lives to worship, pray and draw near to God.  And it encourages us to share the things that God is saying and doing with others. 

As we start to think about this rhythm consider this:  Which things most help you encounter God in your day-to-day life?  Is it prayer in the morning, reading your bible, worshiping with others?  At the start of Lent how can you make sure you have space to receive from God each day and week?  And how can you release what he is giving you to others?