December 18, 2023 - The Quiet Zone

Your team is on the road and down 1… you are at the free throw line to shoot 2 with less than a second on the clock… the opposing team calls time-out to “ice” you… thinking that you will get “in your head” and panic… you come out of the huddle, step to the line, the opposing crowd is going crazy making noise and waving their arms… and you sink the first free throw… [TIE GAME]... the opposing team burns their final time-out… again thinking the extra time to think will cause you to break… you come back out from the huddle and toe the line… now the crowd is really going crazy… everyone in the seats behind your basket are waving their arms and towels… and you CALMLY, in “The QUIET”, sink the winning free throw!!!

“The QUIET”? I thought it read that the opposing fans were screaming and waving their arms? (If this scenario would have taken place on the home court, I can picture teammates swinging their arms palms down to tell the crowd to be quiet, and a hush coming over the arena.)

What the opposing coach didn’t realize is that for you, those time-outs were a time for you to find peace and “The Quiet Zone”!

Let me use a Biblical picture of this… Mary and Joseph have traveled to Bethlehem with Mary ready to give birth to Jesus. Not only was there the strain of travel, while fully pregnant, but also the added noise/inconvenience of an overcrowded town… the added concerns of what the crowd  thinks of this young couple expecting a baby that was conceived out of wedlock… the sounds and smells of the manger… and apparently, according to song, a little boy wanting to bang on his drum… “pa rum pum pum pum”…and yet it was somehow a “silent night”?

So how did Mary and Joseph stay focused in the midst of the chaos and noise? Let me share a few things that were told to them in the huddles they had with the angels…

They were told “Do not be afraid” – Matthew 1:20 / Luke 1:30

Mary is told she is a “Favored on” and has “found favor with God” – Luke 1:28 & 30

And when Mary felt this was an impossible task, was told to rely on “the power of the Highest”… that He had prepared the way – Luke 1:35 & 37

A few quick observations about how to handle the pressure… how to find peace…

First, peace and “The Quiet Zone” are not found in circumstances, but found within… so take a time-out to focus on the proper things…

Second, “The Quiet Zone” is a place where there is an inward absence of noise or bustle… a place where one can “drown out the crowd”… to be quieted, or still in the midst…

Third, in putting together these truths: Peace requires a contentment that is found in the confidence of knowing who you are and what your purpose is!

I believe the coach in the huddle was telling his player, “Do not be afraid… you’ve taken thousands of free throws to prepare for such a time as this… you’ve practiced with the team for such a time as this… you’re the man for the job!”

Believer, being o n God’s team means that you are “in Christ” and empowered by the Holy Spirit.. this is who you are! Therefore, your purpose... your why, is to “step to the line” and Go MAD (Make A Difference)!

I really am restraining myself not to go into more depth this week, but the ref is blowing the whistle telling us to get back out on the floor… live this week in contentment… at peace!

John Wooden said, “Be quick but don’t hurry”;  I’ll add that only happens with  being “calm in the quick!”