Comfort Zone
January 25, 2008
"Come, follow me," Jesus said....At once, they left their nets and followed him.
~Matthew 4:19-20
We are creatures of habit. We create routines in our lives, and stick to them. Sometimes we complain that we are bored, but in truth, we generally find these routines comforting. We don't like change. Sure, for a time, we enjoy new experiences, new surroundings, but then we long for the comforts of the familiar, the tried and true.
God, however, has a way of calling us out of the familiar. He called Abraham out to a new land. He called Moses and the Hebrews out of Egypt to the unfamiliar desert. They resisted at every step. They were out of their comfort zone. But God knows that we will get stuck if we always cling to the safe and familiar. He calls all of us to step out of our comfort zones, in faith.
I wish I could have the faith of Peter and Andrew, John and James to just drop my life and follow Jesus. My husband and I are what you call 'risk adverse'. We both know that you have to take risks to have breakthroughs and growth, but the future seems so unpredictable. I can see that this is totally a lack of faith and trust on my part. It would be easier too, if the Lord just laid out exactly what I should do to follow. But then, that is also not His style. He didn't give Moses advance notice of the escape plan, and that pesky Sea in the way. Jesus rarely, if ever, told the disciples where they were headed next. Trust and Obey, as the old hymn goes.
The times when I did trust and obey, it was mostly because I had reached the end of my rope and had no other choice. The results were always marvelous - truly much better than I could ever have asked or imagined. Still, here I am, so resistant to making those changes in my life that could yield even more amazing results -- for me and God's kingdom.
So, in tribute to expanding my comfort zone, I tried a new medium in my art. The above is my first real foray into watercolors. Watercolors are scary for me because they are more unpredictable. With a pen or pencil, the line goes right where you put it, but watercolors and those brushes flow around. Of course, that's also the benefit.
I recommend trying something new on a regular basis. Try something that you are afraid of -- maybe not something dangerous, but something that makes you hesitate. As we listen to God and learn to trust that new experiences won't 'kill' us, perhaps we can become more faithful in the bigger changes the Lord asks us to make. And knowing Him, He'll be asking to shake things up any moment now!
Lord, help me hear your call on my life, and help me be ready to respond when I do. Take my life, all of it, and mold it and shape it to do your work for your glory. This I pray in the name of your son, Jesus, who was willing to follow you even unto death. Amen.