Sit Back and Get (Un)Comfortable

Sit Back and Get (Un)Comfortable

25/05/2018 12:25:12 PM |

If you have recently visited a train station in Melbourne, you will have seen the ‘safety zone’. It’s distinguishable by its bright yellow lines painted on the platform, signage and proximity to the platform’s entrance. I appreciate that it’s there, however, in order to get on the train and move forward on my journey, I have to step out of the safety zone rectangle.

It’s the same for our lives. Our regular routines help us maintain a productive and balanced life. If we are not careful though, a routine day can become a routine life. The routine can become our life’s yellow painted lines on the platform that keep us safe and comfortable, but at the same time, keep us from stepping out and moving forward.

In our comfort zones, we do what we’ve done before, we don’t challenge ourselves and we definitely don’t do anything we might fail at. In our comfort zones, we pat ourselves on the back and think it was all us. But God didn’t intend for us to live in our comfort zones. The more comfortable we are, the easier it is to think we can rely on ourselves rather than God. We were created by Him, to be nourished by Him and to bear fruit. As we rely on Him and His provision, we can branch out from a place of comfort to a place of freedom in Him.

Intercultural Worker, David, shares what this looks like for him in the Silk Road Area, “I step out of my comfort zone every time I need to engage with new people (which is often!). I found meeting new people uncomfortable in Australia, but without being fluent in the local language, it’s especially uncomfortable here on the Silk Road. I can have the words to say in my head, but when I meet someone new, they disappear. However, I know I have to talk to them. If we are to build relationships and share the message of Jesus, then I have to push myself out of my comfort zone and speak. And so, with God’s strength, I do.”

Zoe in the National Office recalls the last time she stepped out of her comfort zone, “As an administrator, I like to plan… everything! I recently took an international work trip for another organisation I do consultancy work with. Just before leaving Australia, I found out that the in-country partners were on holidays and I panicked! Through my Masters I had extensive intellectual knowledge of the country, however, I also knew actually being there was going to be a very different story. I arrived, managed to get a sim card, a meal and my bearings and decided to trust God. In an unknown place, completely out of my comfort zone, I made the choice to invite God to develop the heart knowledge I needed as well as head knowledge. I chose to see the country through Jesus’ perspective. In coming home, I am seeking to see my friends, family and life through His eyes too.”

As a follower of Jesus, how are you being challenged to step out of  your comfort zone?

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1. Read the Bible in the lunch room at work
2. Download Ekteino discipleship app and do it!
3. Study Global Interaction's Moved series with your small group
4. Go on a Global Xposure team visit
5. Seek God’s will in your decision making
6. Ask God to give you opportunities to step out of your comfort zone (dangerous, I know!)