Observations have shown that God imprinted different time responses which reflect His nature in the human spirit. They are: linear, cyclical and pulse.

Great creative geniuses throughout history most often functioned in relation to time as pulse.

Everyone has creativity; everyone has a time when they go into “pulse.” But the pulse-based high level spirit creatives who are called to release amazing gifts to the world can bottom out after a super-intense creative pulse. This is because they are so in tune and in flow with their spirit and the spirit realm that they can push too hard and find it difficult to return to a steady place where there’s room to balance out their souls and bodies again. (That’s why we need loving and perceptive parents–and if we didn’t have those, we have a loving and perceptive Heavenly Father!)

Let’s look at some profiles. And then consider our children.

David Brainerd, missionary to the Indians in North America, covered a lot of ground physically and spiritually, and died of exhaustion at age 29.  William Wilberforce, the great social justice advocate, whose life’s work completely stopped the slave trade in the United Kingdom through the legal system instead of war, suffered extreme physical pain and almost died from exhaustion due to the intense spiritual burden he bore.  Sir Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientific minds of all time, continued to stretch his physical limits researching, developing, and writing without sleeping or eating for days after his mother’s death.  This pulse creative cycle and internal intensity, coupled with the lack of being taught the legitimacy of personal boundaries and self-control in physical areas such as resting the mind, sleep, eating, and adjusting into and out of these creative cycles, precipitated a nervous break-down for Newton.  He almost died from that extended incident.

Pulse time based people can struggle most of all if they do not understand their spirits’ God-given design.  Often with no apparent pattern, a burst of creative energy will propel them to stay up late at night and arise early, dogged to catch the wave of creativity and to finish a product (song, invention, writing, research, etc.) while they are “in the flow.”  After that specific creative burst is complete, they may collapse, exhausted from the intensity of their creativity and determination, and lack of sleep and proper nutrition.  Then, feeling without direction or purpose since completing their project with intensity (combined with exhaustion), they can fall prey to depression.  Of course, pulse time is not intended by God to end in depression.  We need understanding.

Pulse time based people parallel the Holy Spirit.  During the Old Testament, His interactions with men and women are described in the following manner, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon. . . .”  When the Holy Spirit came upon a man or woman, he or she went into a “pulse” like Elijah did when he called down fire from heaven on the altar, then killed over 400 prophets of Baal.  Then, Elijah ran some 40 miles, went into a depression when the “pulse” or Holy Spirit lifted, hid in a cave, and willed his life to end.  In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit entered in His unexpected way, as “a mighty rushing wind.”  What we need to understand is that after a pulse creative time, God grants linear time so that we can stabilize, rest, rejoice, and regroup.  Understanding that He gives this linear time as grace so we will not burn out will help avert depression.

. . .to be continued.

(excerpt from “Spirit Components-Recognizing & Nurturing” in Perfect Peace by Crystal Wade, 2010)