“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)
Abraham had no ancestors for many decades, since Sarah did not conceive a child until miraculously, in her nineties. For decades, Abraham went wherever God led him, trusting His promise to make a nation out of his ‘ancestors.’
The first example in scripture of a person leaving their comfort zone, is Abraham. He was called to start a new nation, but he never understood how a nation could come from him, since he was childless.
Abraham trusted and believed God by leaving the place where he grew up, his friends, family and the empty religions of his community, to begin a journey that never made complete sense until the age of 100. That was when he finally witnessed the birth of his and Sarah’s biological son. Isaac was the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. Although Abraham never saw the nation that would come from Isaac, he believed God’s promise, which was actualized through his twelve grandsons, long after Abraham was gone.
Abraham’s story shows us how leaving our comfort zone can reap blessings long afterwords and that some prayers are still answered long after the person who prayed, is gone.
Many other heroes of faith left their comfort zone to trust God and they reaped blessings long afterward. Moses left a royal palace in Egypt, to began a new life as a shepherd. One day, God called him from a bush that was on fire. Moses obeyed God but he faced many uncomfortable circumstances, while leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The people grumbled, complained and criticized him every step of the way. It was an difficult task, but Moses prayed and interceded for them, and God parted the sea and led them all to their promised land.
Queen Esther was one of the many wives of a powerful King of Persia. Upon learning of a genocide plot towards all the Hebrew people, she left her comfort zone by revealing to the king that she was a Hebrew.
She interceded for the people by choosing to speak up and saved her generation from genocide.
There are many other people in scripture who left their comfort zone to pursue what God led them to do, like Peter and all the apostles. We all go through new phases at times in our lives, which require us to let go of the familiar and take some new risk. It may not be comfortable but by trusting God’s plan, He gives us His grace to do all things.
Like the heroes and heroins of scripture, a certain situation may push us out of our comfort zone, and test our faith. I am more aware these days how getting older brings conditions that require us to leave a comfort zone of some kind, and move on to a new phase in our life.
I met an elderly patient last week at the hospital during my volunteer ministry. She was recovering slowly from a stroke and asked me to pray for her to die. I told her as long as she is breathing, God still has something for her to do, even if it is to pray for others. So, I prayed for her, she thanked me, but I hope she can let go of the comfort zone of how life used to be, and embrace a new purpose during her recovery phase.
If we are still breathing, there will always be a new phase with a new purpose, for us. We tend to cling to the familiar and comfortable, but when we let go, God can lead us to the next phase in our life. He also gives us a new comfort by placing our trust in a good and loving God, who will never forsake us, and has many new blessings to give us tomorrow.
Lord, help us not to fear leaving our comfort zones and to trust wherever you lead us, as you did for the many heroes of faith in scripture. Amen
