We all have a comfort zone. It is the
place where we don’t need to worry much because we are living with the
familiar. It is a nice place to be...but stay too long and our comfort turns to
complacency and we lose our cutting edge.
Leaving our comfort zone is not about adopting the common
lifestyle of the hurried, harried, and overcommitted. That is a place of
frustration, tiredness, and depletion. What I am suggesting is that there ought
to be at least one area of our lives where we are pushing ourselves to learn,
grow, and become all that God designed us to be. Those who stop growing become
stale, and that staleness impacts all of their life.
Think through the major areas of your life: work, relationships, marriage,
children, ministry; finances; spirituality. Which of those areas are in need of
growth now? Are there any that are screaming for attention? If you could give a
red (it is going badly), yellow (I could do better), or green (it is really good)
to each of the areas mentioned, which would be red or yellow? Those can be good
colors because they tell us where we can grow.
Even the Apostle Paul, at the end of his life, knew that he needed to press
forward in growth. He writes, "Not that I have already obtained all this,
or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which
Christ Jesus took hold of me...Forgetting what is behind and straining toward
what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward to Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).
When the other disciples were perfectly comfortable in their boat in the midst
of a storm (where fishermen like to be), Peter got out to walk toward
Jesus. He took a risk and learned the power of God. Where do you need to take a
risk, leave your comfort zone, and go where you have not gone before? Start
where you know you need to be. God has already probably told you in your heart
where you need to take a step of faith. Get out of the boat and trust Him...and
you will keep growing.
