The Christian Life according to Frank Sinatra

I don’t know about you, but my walk with God tends toward feast or famine. There are weeks when I am eager and hungry for time in the Word, extended prayer comes naturally, I crave good teaching and input. There are seasons when my mind is engaged and my heart is full and motivated to reach out to others with every opportunity God opens.

There are other stretches when my spiritual desire dries up, when it takes all I have just to go through the motions, when my heart for ministry can best be described as apathy. As one friend puts it, my “give-a-______” is broken. I have little or no God-driven passion or power. I have no innate interest in the things of the Lord.

Sometimes the most consistent thing about my life is inconsistency.

But rather than seeking perfect consistency or balance, I find it most helpful to develop rhythms in my life. Healthy, holy rhythms of work and rest. Position and performance. Roots and fruits. Heart and head. Productivity and stillness. Mary and Martha. Abiding and Abounding. Being and doing. Frank Sinatra said it best…Do Be Do Be Do.

Instead of the pressure and self-defeating exhaustion of do, do, do, I observe Jesus living a healthy pattern of be, do, be, do, be, do. Time on the front lines refueled by time with the Father.

Abiding and Abounding…

·       Does God call us to rest in Him--or work diligently in ministry?

·       Should we spend time in silence--or serve others?

·       Should I pray--or act?

·       Does God care about who we are--or what we do?

·       Or our roots or fruits more important?

Yes.

In order to be emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually healthy in ministry, I must intentionally pull back into the rhythm of Do Be Do Be Do. It doesn’t come naturally to most of us. It is far too easy to either give up and coast--or start running on our own steam and energy. And we can work very hard for God without it ever being God working out His agenda through us.

In the early centuries of Christianity, the church had become worldly. The “Desert Fathers”, as they became known, retreated from the noise and distractions out to the desert to reconnect with God. As they sought to maintain an intimate connection with God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15), their writings and example would influence believers hundreds of years later who seek to maintain the same relationship. In the 21st century, I far too easily find myself overwhelmed by the busyness, noise, worldliness, designer spirituality and self-focused priorities of life today. I begin to compromise, to skim, to run on fumes, to go through the motions of a Christian life rather than maintaining a living, breathing, vibrant connection to Christ. While I’m not quite ready to take the radical step of moving into a cave in the desert, I know I need to pull away on a regular basis lest my walk with God becomes a dry, lifeless desert.

In order to reach out to others with the energy of Christ, I need to integrate contemplative patterns into my life. Christ-centered contemplation simply means slowing down to be with God. It’s not about self-centered introspection. It’s not about wacky, vague “spirituality”. It’s about learning to sit at Jesus’ feet. Learning to see Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Learning to Be. Before I can Do. Transformation by the Word before transmission of the Word.

Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. (Psalm 116:7)

A friend who is a poultry farmer reads it this way: “Return to your roost, O my soul”. Have you ever been in a henhouse when all the chickens are flustered, scattered, flitting around and making a racket? Well, my internal life can become every bit that loud and chaotic. And what is the fruit of a loud and chaotic inner life? Self-effort, pride, exhaustion, resentment, spinning my wheels, aimless activity instead of strategic ministry… If I choose to “return to my roost” and remember how the Lord has dealt bountifully with me, life falls back into perspective, and I begin to do, be, do, be, do effectively but peacefully. Instead of unhealthy extremes of self-indulgent laziness or self-righteous workaholism, I develop Spirit-powered gears that drive a dependent, obedient life. John 15 becomes reality. He is the vine and we are the branches.

As much as I love Springsteen, I’m afraid I am not “Born to Run”. In the immortal words of Sinatra, God designed me to “Do Be Do Be Do”. How about you?

Finding my rhythm,

Linda