In the Zone

Be strong and very courageous.

Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you;

do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

 

Joshua 1:7

In sports, there is a term known as "in the zone." It is a description of a person executing his skills so well that total concentration is taking place, and the athlete is performing flawlessly.

 

Performance seems effortless because it comes so easily.

 

For the tennis player, it is hitting every shot right where he wants. For the baseball pitcher, it is throwing a strike. For the golfer, the fairways are wide, and the hole is small, but everything is flowing just right as the club makes contact with the little white ball. For the basketball player it is hitting the 3-point shot with nothing but net. For the surfer it is catching that perfect wave and gliding through the tunnel of the tube without wiping out.

Those who grew up involved in sports know what it feels like to be in the zone.

 

You just knew when you when you where in the zone and when you weren't. Imagine now, that, you have the opportunity to play in a golf tournament championship. It is the opening round, and you are in the zone. You are focused and are aware of the difference in your mental attitude when executing the swing you want to make with little regard to the outcome. You can visualize the swing so well that it is like a vivid picture in your mind. You know that if you make the right swing, the outcome would take care of itself. At the end of the day you shoot four under par for a 68, and go on to win the golf tournament.

 

When we are obedient to God it is like being in the zone of life.

When we live a life of obedience, we begin to experience the reality of God like never before. Wisdom grows in our life and meaning and purpose accelerates. In the early Church, the Hebrews gained wisdom through obedience. Later, the Greeks were characterized as gaining wisdom through reason and analysis.

 

When we rely on reason and analysis alone instead of obeying God, we lack being in the zone.

 

Today, we live in a very Greek-influenced Church and thus many Christians determine if they will obey based on whether the outcome will be beneficial to them. Imagine if the early Church had adopted this philosophy. No walls would have fallen down at Jericho. No Red Sea would have parted. No one would have been healed. No coins would have been found in the mouth of a fish. Reason and analysis would not have led to making the obedient decision.

 

Obediently trust God with and in all things and you will find that you are always in the zone!