I've been
thinking about whether the conventional wisdom that you need to 'go out of your comfort zone' is good advice or not.
In the process, I've wondered... is it biblical?
And I've pondered things like...
... did Noah go out of his comfort zone when he built the ark?
... did Moses go out of his comfort zone when he led Israel across the Red Sea?
... did David go out of his comfort zone when he stood up to Goliath?
... did the disciples go out of their comfort
zone when they followed Jesus?
... did Paul go out of his comfort zone when he suffered for the gospel?
In my thinking, they did not.
Yeah, they may have felt some discomfort when they initially thought about whatever God was calling them to do.
But when it came to actually following His call, it wasn't their resolve to go out of their comfort zone that got them going...
... it was the growing zone of trust in which they were living.
In other words... as
these heroes of the faith became more familiar with the truth, love and goodness of God, the more faith they had to follow His leading...
... and instead of going out of their comfort zone, their comfort zone simply got bigger as their faith became greater.
So here's my conclusion on the whole comfort zone mantra...
You should never feel pushed to go out of your comfort
zone...
... because you might feel uncomfortable with something for a good reason!
That is, what your are contemplating might be morally wrong or unloving or simply a bad fit for you and your gifts.
And, as result, your discomfort may be God's way of saying, "don't do this."
Yet... on the other hand, we should never be complacent or be stopped from doing the right thing out of laziness or fear.
Rather, we should continually walk with the Father in such a way
that our trust in Him grows to the point we are comfortable following wherever He leads us.