I just finished listening to an interview with a well known jazz saxophonist. I was intrigued by his description of “The Zone.” “The Zone” is a state of mind when a jazz artist improvises without conscious thought of what the next note or phrase will be. It just flows from inside into this grand moment of musical purity. I have heard golfers speak of rounds when they were in “The Zone.” They couldn’t hit a bad shot. Everything was working.
One of my favorite authors wrote the following about our walk with Jesus. “All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses.”* It’s the “Jesus Zone.”
I was short with someone today. I was irritated that my auto insurance agency, not a huge one, did not know who I was despite my being their customer for twenty years. I told them I was going to call “Flo” or the “Gecko.” I was in a zone but not the zone I want to be in. My first impulse was neither genteel nor positive. So, where’s the “Jesus Zone” and how do I get there? Just because I somehow manage to write a devotional almost every day does not at all mean I am in “The Zone.” Quite to the contrary, I, like so many of you, am struggling with the irritants of modern life. If I am not respected I rarely give respect back. Maybe someday. Someday. I’ll be sure to tell you when I find it.
*E. G. White
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 6, 2015
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org