Outside Your Comfort Zone

August 21, 2009

~Denise Grant

“This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life.”

Psalm 119:50

 

     “Come on in. The water’s fine”, I said, as she hesitated to even dip even her big toe in. She finally relented and stuck in her whole foot, then quickly pulled it back, complaining about the water being too cold. “Chicken”, I called out as she frantically massaged the chill bumps running down her arms.

 

    You have probably been to a swimming pool where people in the water are having a great time. Someone yells, "Come on in.” You stick in your toe, then shrink back, contemplating taking the plunge or not. Sitting poolside, you realize you’re the only one not having fun. So you ponder whether to get in gradually or risk it all and just dive in. For a few seconds the water is cold, but then it quickly changes to refreshing. You spend the next few hours, enjoying the sun, the fun and the water, never remembering those first few uncomfortable moments.

 

 

     Stepping outside our comfort zone is a lot like getting in a swimming pool. Whenever we first step in, we typically feel a bit (and at times, a lot) uncomfortable. But not long after we make the decision, we experience a new-found freedom on the other side. We then scold ourselves for not taking the plunge sooner.

 

     God is always trying to lead us out of our comfort zone, to a place where we can be of greater service and usefulness for Him. Don’t let the comfort and security of your present position make you fail to see God’s plan.

 

     And don’t grow so relaxed in the zone that you find yourself giving in to the pressures of today’s society. The climb up can be mighty steep if you sink low enough within the moral decline. After all, God has called us to live set apart from the world’s wicked ways. So don’t get comfortable!

 

     The government forced Joseph to make a 70 mile trip just to pay his taxes. Mary, who had to go with him, was ready to give birth to Jesus at any moment. You know the story - when they arrived in Bethlehem, they couldn’t even find a place to stay. When we do God’s will, we are not guaranteed a comfortable life; we are promised only that even our discomfort has meaning in God’s plan. As a mother myself, I can’t imagine Mary, any more out of her comfort zone than on the back of a donkey trudging through dangerous forest and plain, while 9 months pregnant. What if she had simply refused to climb outside her comfort zone?

 

     None of us like to leave our safe, happy and secure zones, but God can bring great results from our doing so. Sometimes God needs us to move in order to work in our lives - - we fight Him not even knowing who or what we’re battling. Therefore, God make us uncomfortable so we’ll start climbing.

 

     So, the next time you are tempted to complain about having to move out of your comfort zone, stop and ask if God may just be preparing you for a special task. Then climb – no JUMP out! God is always on the other side, waiting.

 

     “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you” John 14:18 KJV

 

     "God places many of his blessings outside of our comfort zones, then asks us to come and get them”  (Kent Crockett, The 911 Handbook, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003, 67)

 

Dear God,

     Open your loving arms, Father, and envelop me with Your direction and peace. Allow me to find Your presence where You’ve asked me to go. Let me know that You are right there with me every step of the way. Hold me close so if I fall, I’ll fall into Your arms. I embrace the opportunity to be used of You. Give my heart an ever-deepening joy through this discomfort. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Denise Grant - Just "clay" in the Master Potter's hands.

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. "The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14