Knowing Him – Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Does; eating a big bowl of Chocolate Ice Cream, a piece of cheesecake, wrapped up in a blanket with a bowl of popcorn watching a 3 box of tissues movie or soaking in a nice warm bubble bath being undisturbed by kids or husband, come to mind when I mention COMFORT ZONE?  What About is the comfort zone you have with God?  You know; the sitting in the back row at church so you can get out undetected, sitting in the middle so that you might blend in with the others and the pastor is not talking to you, maybe you’re the one sitting up front hoping that you are close enough to be over looked. What
happens though if God starts to speak to you about stepping out of your comfort zone? What if He says, “They need help with the children’s ministry, or How about helping out with the homeless or those that are in the hospital?” He may even ask you to help clean the church building. How about going to Honduras and help down there on a mission trip? Do you tend to say to yourself that someone else will do it? Maybe you dismiss it as your mind is playing games with you or that you are not qualified to do the job. Let me tell you that if He is asking you to do a job you are more than qualified. In Philippians 4:13 NLV “For I can do everything with the help of Christ who give me the strength I need.”

I got thrown out of my comfort zone with a move to TX.  No longer did I have the
sound booth to hide behind and serve the LORD by recording the pastor’s wife or preparing meals and serving behind the kitchen wall, I was lost, out-of-place and everywhere I tried to find a place to fit in I was out-of-place. It was like being the ugly stepsister and trying on Cinderella’s glass slipper it did not fit no matter how hard I tried to make it fit. Then one night as I was having problems sleeping the LORD spoke to me. There had been many night that the LORD would ask me to write a brief devotional late at night and I would. I have always like writing. This time was different. This time I must have miss understood what He said. Surely He did not just ask me to start writing women’s Bible study lessons. As I tried to talk my way out of this I started to think that I must sound like Moses. Moses, HMMM OH Yeah, back in high school the youth choir sang a song about Moses written by Ken Medema so I start thinking of how he wrote the excuses for Moses. I could not use the one about in Egypt they want Moses’ head, never been there… AH I have it;  “DDDDon’t YYYou KNOw III cccan’t tttalk ssso gggood. III ssstutter all ttthe tttime. Do you know Leslie Martin ssshe a wwwonnnddderful TTTeacher? NNNOt mme LLLORD.”  That is how my version went I thought it was good. That excuse worked for me as good as it worked for Moses. The LORD came back with a response that shot any other argument down.

He did not what me to teach like Leslie but like myself. I started being obedient and found out that He was there to give me His words and direction as to what He wanted me to write on. I was not the only one that the LORD has called out of their comfort zone the Bible is full of men and women that God used to serve Him in ways that none of them would ever think of. As we look at them we will find what they found in serving God outside of their comfort zone helped them to know God more.