Outside Our Comfort Zone
comfort |ˈkəmfərt| noun 1 a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint: She loved comfort.
Last year for Christmas, my family and I spent a week in the beautiful city of Breckenridge, Colorado for Christmas. I was looking through photos the other day of the kids skiing and sledding on the snowy mountains.
The mountains are really beautiful. They’re covered in snow and when you climb to the very top, you can see for miles and miles. But there is also something really uncomfortable about elevation. Each time we would climb higher and higher up the mountain, our breathing would become more and more difficult because of the altitude.
In the same way, when God asks us to go to a higher level on our faith journey, we need to expect some discomfort because of the added strength required to go up to where He is calling us.
If you’re asking God to bless and expand your business—are you prepared to take on the extra clients? If you’re praying and asking God to bring you a spouse—are you preparing yourself to be the best life partner you can be? If you’re asking God to give you more—are you taking care of what God has already entrusted to you?
“To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” Matthew 25:29
Many people who visit the mountains actually experience altitude sickness if they have not prepared themselves for the elevation and if they are not physically healthy enough to handle it. In a spiritual sense, this is why we need to prepare ourselves for what God is calling us to in the upcoming seasons of our lives. We always prepare now for what is to come.
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” 1 Peter 1:13
You need to start seeing your spiritual walk and devotion as a training ground, just like how you would train in the gym each day. We can’t expect our spiritual muscles to grow if we are not working them out. Just as we would train our bodies to run a marathon, we train our spirit to fight the good fight of faith!
“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12
God will not send you anywhere He has not called you. God will not ask you to go anywhere He has not already prepared for you. God will not ask you to do anything you are not prepared to do. Listen to His voice daily and answer Him with a resounding, “YES” when He calls. He will provide everything you need for your journey along the way. It is here, outside of our comfort zone, where we see the miraculous hand of God at work. It is in our weakness where we find His strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).
And I can definitely find comfort in that.
XO-
Sabrina