Out Of My Comfort Zone

This post is written to link with Five Minute Friday– write for five minutes on a one word prompt.  The prompt today is “comfort.”

What is it about us that longs for comfort?  That wishes life could be easy and that everything didn’t have to be such hard work?

Honestly, if I went with my feelings, a lot of the time I’d choose the easy option- the choice that will bring me pleasure, the task I know I can handle.

But then something deeper stirs inside me, and reminds me that out of my comfort zone is where Jesus is, and that he gently calls me to join him, to climb out of the boat and step out on the water, looking to him to enable me.

And I remember all the times I’ve stepped out in the past: speaking up when it would have been easier to remain silent, offering to pray for someone when I was unsure how they’d respond, agreeing to challenges that were so far beyond me I knew I hadn’t a hope in my own strength.

It’s never easy or comfortable, but it’s always worth it.  It’s only as we step out in our weakness that we know his strength; it’s only as we open our mouths that he gives us the words; it’s only as we move beyond what we can do in our own power that we can do more than we’d ever have imagined because of his.

And I remember how Jesus gave up the comfort of heaven for me:

“He gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”  (Philippians 2:7-8 NLT)

The longing for comfort is still there, but when I stop and think, there is a deeper longing: to know God more and to be used by him, and that involves stepping out.