Christians, get back into your comfort zone!
He leads me …
It has been quite common for Christians to be told to leave their comfort zone so that they can be truly effective for the Lord. But, is being comfortable such a bad thing? After all, the Holy Spirit’s ministry is being our Comforter, which means - He comforts us (John 14:26)? And let us face it - most of us like being comfortable.
Is there any proof that we only experience spiritual growth outside our comfort zone? The scriptures essentially tell us to use the gifts that God has given to us (1 Corinthians 7:17,20). Also, Psalm 37:4 reads,
Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart (NKJV).
This is a twofold promise. As we pursue a relationship with the Lord, He gives us a burden (desire) to do certain things. We know it comes from Him because the desire does not go away like our own ideas do after two or three weeks. The second part is that having created the initial desire in us, He then helps bring the desire to completion, thereby giving us the desire of our heart.
Notice too that people who are truly effective in what they do are usually doing it naturally. It is because it is a part of who they are. And when people compliment them on what they have achieved, they cannot see anything special about what they do because it was the obvious thing to do for them. This is because they are using their God given gifts.
However, there will be times when we do need to move out of our comfort zone. Like when we go through the process of forgiving someone. Or when we offer our sympathies to someone who’s loved one has just died. It is times like this when we first ask the Lord to help us.
Generally our true effectiveness is best seen when we are in our comfort zone. Perhaps those who really dislike the idea of being in their comfort zone really mean is that we should step outside our complacency zone. Comfort and complacency are not the same thing. Remember in Revelation 3:14-22, the church at Laodicea had become complacent because they had a great lifestyle. They lived at the junction of five major trade routes, bringing the people, commerce and wealth beyond any other city in the region. They also felt secure from any possible assault from foreign armies. They lived at the top of a mountain, 500 metres above a valley. The mountain sides were smooth, so that there was no good way for an army to ascend and attack.
As a result they were lethargic and overconfident. They were lukewarm. They had no spiritual life because they felt self-sufficient, and worse still, they were blind to their condition. Their complacency meant that as they saw it, they had no real need of Jesus. He said in Revelation 3:17 that they felt that they were rich, had become wealthy, and had need of nothing - and they did not know that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus reminded them that they did not need to step outside their comfort zone - they needed to repent![1]
Unfortunately many Christians have not learned the lessons of the church at Laodicea. The seven last words of these types of church are, ‘We never did it that way before.’ They want the status quo. They want to have a set time each week where they can go to a church where it is safe and comfortable. They also like things efficient and organized.
We should all assess how comfortable we are with our faith today. Is our spiritual life as good as we want it to be? Do we read about the church at Laodicea, unconcerned that our church might be in the same situation?
In terms of the life of our church, maybe we should ask –
· When was the last time our church baptized anyone? If it has been a year or more, there is probably a fundamental problem.
· When was the last time our church baptized anyone other than a child or grandchild of a current member? If it has been quite a long time, then it is looking like there is a problem here too.
· When was the last time that our church received visitors on a regular basis, and not just during the major holidays?
· Better still, when was the last time we, as an individual church member, invited anyone to church?
Do we want to be spiritually dull and dry, rely on appearances, and keep our spiritual life just as it is? If not, what do we do about it?
We have the Word of God, and the indwelling Holy Spirit can provide abundant help for growing deeper into what the Lord can provide. How do we receive this help? The Spirit of God has real pleasure being able to speak to those who will listen. He has so much more to say to us than most of us have already heard.
Here is the Father’s plea: ‘Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.’ (Isaiah 55.2-3 NLT). The best way to feed our souls is by listening to God.
Every church in Revelation received the same invitation: ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ There are over 300 times in Scripture where God tries to speak to His people. We can be confident that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us too - like today.
Why then is it hard to hear Him? Probably because hearing Him requires time and silence. We must make time to listen, and be still enough to hear.
When we hear God’s voice, Jesus says, ‘Remember and take to heart the lessons you have received and heard. Keep and obey them, and repent [change your sinful way of thinking, and demonstrate your repentance with new behavior that proves a conscious decision to turn away from sin] (Revelation 3:3 AMP). It is important that we yield to what we hear God say, for the sake of everyone involved.
When we obey, it is possible that we will need to repent as well. The closer we come to God, the more we see the need to be free from all sin.
The essence of growing spiritually is to live surrendered to the voice of God’s Spirit.[2]
[1] Christians, Get Back Into Your Comfort Zone! Roger Upton, WordPress; https://rogerupton.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/christians-get-back-into-your-comfort-zone/
[2] The Cure for the Complacent Souls, Dr. Jim Denison, Denison Forum; https://www.denisonforum.org/resources/the-cure-for-the-complacent-souls/
