REFLECTIONS

Beyond the Comfort Zone

The flight felt uncomfortable even though takeoff was still weeks away. The plane ride wasn’t the issue. It was the test of my own wings to venture into an unfamiliar world, though not a dangerous one, to a place filled only with strangers to me. The journey would carry me beyond my comfort zone.

It’s funny how comfort zones can box us in. We know that progress only comes from change; yet change crosses the boundaries that protect and comfort us. Self-confidence is contained within the boundaries of a comfort zone. Beyond it we are unsure and unsettled. But we are no different than many who went before us.

The Lord had said to Abraham, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) And Abraham followed God’s instruction though he must have been at least a little uneasy about it. Then God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and instructed him, “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10) Although in protest, Moses followed God’s direction. Paul was called to “stand on his feet” to become a witness to the Gentiles and thus began his journeys to spread the Gospel to the world.

Abraham, Moses and Paul were all resting contentedly within their comfort zones when God called them to their journeys. Surely none of them was at ease with the journeys set before them, yet they chose to step beyond their comfort zones anyway.

The comfort zone is a secure place. Beyond it is a journey into the unknown; but it is through journeys that God calls each of us to live our lives. He said “Go” when He called Abraham, Moses and Paul to their journeys. And through Jesus Christ He also commissioned us to reach beyond the comfort zones and “Go…” on ours. (Matthew 28:19)

Now, I wondered what doors lay ahead on my journey back then. I wondered which ones the journey would open and which ones would close. I feared them both. Some might close and bring ends to lifelong dreams. And others might open to lead further than my imagination could fathom. The trip did both.

God’s plans for our journeys through life to take us beyond our comfort zones. Let’s buckle up and test our wings.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

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