Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch scientist and the inventor of the pendulum clock. Sitting in a room full of them one day in 1656, he noticed that the pendulums were swinging in sync—even though he was sure some of them were staggered when he first set them in motion. So he began experimenting to verify the phenomenon and found it to be consistent. Close proximity tended to result in synchronization.
This principle of entrainment—the natural synchronization of “coupled oscillators”—has since been found to apply to much more than pendulum clocks. It prompts fireflies to light up in sync, cells on a slide to move in sync, strings on an instrument to vibrate in sync, and more. It works in the realms of physics, biology, arts, and virtually everywhere in creation. It’s an amazing phenomenon.
It also works in spiritual realms. The closer we come to God, the more we synchronize with him. Our desires blend with his. Our feelings align with his. Our motives begin to conform to his. Our hearts start beating in the rhythm of his own.
If you’ve ever been frustrated with trying to follow God at a behavioral level, this may be why. It isn’t enough to conform our actions to his. He wants us to have his heartbeat and then live from our hearts. It’s a much more effective discipleship, and a rewarding one too. Seek closeness to God above all else, and you’ll soon move with him without even being aware of it.
