I believe there comes a moment in every woman’s daily life when she can no longer stand wearing her blue jeans. They’ve simply got to come off. Can you relate? That friendly second skin of cotton and spandex that hugged and caressed your curves just this morning now feels like a cantankerous boa constrictor. There will be no joy in Whoville until that ruthless dungeon of denim lies abandoned on the bedroom floor and is replaced by the gentle embrace of yoga pants.
Many of us also feel constrained by our “comfortable” day-to-day lives. One day we tire of the ordinariness that leaves us feeling insignificant and redundant. We’re sick of being stuck. We want to feel alive.
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them [that’s us!] a rich and satisfying life” (ɴʟᴛ).
If that’s true, why are so many Christians bored?
Out of Gas or Out on a Limb?
Perhaps it’s because our Enemy is determined to steal our passion, kill our faith, and thus destroy the unique mission God had in mind when He created each of us. Maybe this explains why we often require so little of ourselves; why so few of us take risks when God invites us out onto a limb where only He can keep us from plummeting to the rocky ground below.
Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
What is more important to God than your fear? Your faith! The suffering of the poor! The fact that unless someone reaches your neighbors with the grace of Jesus, they will spend forever alienated from Him.
God wants us to be the conduit through which He offers the world comfort. He wants our words to speak His truth into people’s hearts. He wants us to experience the thrill, in dependence on Him, of the purpose for which He made us.
Finding Courage
How can we find the courage to follow Jesus out onto a limb that lies beyond our comfort zone?
- Ask Jesus how He wants us to represent Him on this planet. The gifts and abilities He has placed in us provide clues.
- Admit your fear.
- Activate your faith through dependent prayer.
- Acknowledge the needs He’s placed on your heart or across your path. What breaks your heart or ignites your indignation? Find out who is doing something about it and join them.
- Apply your God-given resources (time, money, abilities, and emotional and physical energy) to become part of the solution to the problem you’ve identified.
Release your faith from the confines of your comfort zone. Reclaim your passion from the Enemy and you’ll find your fulfillment. God has smuggled something of His heart into this world by concealing it in yours. The world won’t be the same without it.
Find more tips for escaping your comfort zone in Kick the Boring Out of Your Life.
