“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”
Hebrews 11:8 (RSV)
As I read this verse, the message stands out, that we are first called, then we obey, then we receive, but we still may not know exactly where God is leading us. We have to trust that our lives are in His hands.
Abraham is probably the first person in scripture to be called out, to leave his comfort zone and go elsewhere, not knowing anything about where he was being sent. He left his friends, family and the false religion of his upbringing, to obey and follow God’s promise to make a new nation through him.
Abraham was promised a son, which didn’t come to pass until he was a hundred years old. He left his comfort zone and journeyed through many years of his life by faith, in order to receive the inheritance God promised him. It was the journey of his lifetime, and Abraham is now the patriarch of faith for all people.
Moses left a life of luxury as the prince of Egypt, and started a new life as a shepherd, working in the Mid-East heat to provide for his family. As if that wasn’t enough of leaving a comfort zone, God called him from a burning bush one day, to send him even further from what was familiar. He was chosen to deliver the Israelites out of slavery, which was a difficult task in managing a mass of people who doubted, grumbled, complained and criticized him every step of the way. In leaving his comfort zone, Moses patiently led the people to freedom as God parted the sea for them.
Queen Esther had a comfortable life, being chosen by the King of Persia, and treated as one of his favorites. When a mass genocide plot against the Jewish people was discovered, she had to muster up the courage to go to the king and intercede for her people. In revealing that she was Jewish she risked the possibility that she too, might be killed along with her people. It was Esther’s moment of courage to leave her comfort zone, and speak up. She did it and succeeded in saving her people from genocide.
Peter had to leave his comfort zone more than once. For years, he made a living by fishing and was totally comfortable around water, however, walking on water was not within his comfort zone, but he stepped out in faith, and did it. Later, he left his comfort zone again when he came to accept that Jesus came for the gentiles as well as for Jews. Peter always lived within a narrow subculture of Jewishness and had never even entered the home of a gentile. He left that comfort zone and began to welcome the gentiles into the newly founded church.
My son Jon, who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury for the past year, has been making slow, steady progress in the Nursing Facility where he is living. Recently, he has made several efforts to stand up on his own. He was observed, recently trying to stand up out of his chair and then sitting back down again. The staff knows he has the strength to do it, so physical therapy was finally ordered and yesterday he had his first session.
I was happy to be there and watch, as they brought him to the physical therapy department. It’s a great big room, fully equipped with everything that is needed, including two kind and capable therapists. They put the gait belt around Jon in order to hold on to him, and rolled his chair up to the two hand rails. He was asked to get up, with a therapist on each side, but he gripped his chair, with his one good arm, and refused to move.
He had all the right support and was in the right place, but he just refused to get up. So that ended his first therapy session, but they will try again tomorrow. One thing I could definitely see, as his mother, was a lot of fear on his face. He is not able to tell us what he is thinking and he murmured constantly during the whole ordeal, although no one could understand anything he said. Somehow, that new environment and first attempt at PT, was frightening to him and he was far outside of his comfort zone.
We are all used to our daily habits and familiar environments which we have grown to feel safe in. How much more would a patient with a brain injury, who has been in one place for nine months, feel frightened when brought into a totally different environment, and suddenly asked to do something new and different ?
Occasionally, circumstances will push all of us and test our limits outside of our comfort zone. Our first reaction might be similar to Jon’s, gripping the familiar chair, and refusing to move. When God leads us to leave our safety zone, we may make excuses, or give in to our fears. It’s natural to hold on with a firm grip to what we are so familiar with.
As I wrote this, I paused to ask myself what comfort zone am I gripping, and what is God asking me to do, that might feel unfamiliar or even scary. As disciples of Christ, we all have to discern what God is calling us to do next, and then ask ourselves what we are doing about it.
Lord, help us not to fear leaving what has been so familiar, and to step out in faith and go wherever you are calling us to go. Give us faith beyond our fears to leave our comfort zone and find the lasting joy and many rewards in following you. Amen