Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone

Do you like change? Some people say that they do; some people quickly respond that they don’t. I bet that most people don’t welcome a change that challenges their comfort zone. But, challenging those comfort zones is exactly what God does to grow us.

One of my comfort zones that was challenged was my general tendency to be meticulous and careful as a person and as a time manager. You might say I that have a “type A” personality. I’ve always managed my schedule and routines so efficiently that you could set a clock by them.

But God had a few new things He wanted to teach me. So He began working on my attitude and my time management. How did He do this? By a trial and a test: He sent my family to the mission field. We moved to Singapore.

Little did I know when we landed in Singapore that my life was on the brink of major change. God wanted to move me toward His perfection (rather than perfectionism), which required trans­planting me to an entirely different culture ... a culture where we did not even have a car!

Can you imagine the trauma this was for someone who previously lived in Los Angeles County, where we basically lived in our cars as we drove from activity to activity?

Having no car meant that we spent hours every day standing on corners waiting for buses that were always late, or didn’t even come at all. I also stood at corners waving for taxis that wouldn’t pull over because they were already full. I regularly stood in the rain with no transportation and no phone. My perfect little routines I had so carefully developed over the decades was completely knocked out. I rarely felt productive and efficient now.

How did I respond to this new chal­lenge and the trials associated with my new situation? Not initially with grace, I can assure you.

But there, in my time of trial, the Lord taught me. I learned how to be flexible. I grew in patience as I became more and more accustomed to standing and waiting. A greater trust in God developed as I began to sur­render—to yield—to His wisdom and purpose in my new living style.

I grew to rest in the Lord, to hand the undone things in my schedule to Him, to relinquish more and more things in my precious routine, to let Him have His perfect work in me. I experienced a variety of tailor-made trials, a variety of ways of living, and different ways to manage life. I learned that millions of women live in a way I’d never experienced.

It’s truly amazing to see how God breaks us out of what we are comfortable with and moves us beyond our current state. He uses trials and tests to help us face and overcome challenges so we can do even greater feats for Him.

These lessons don’t come easily or cheaply. They develop and require fortitude, trust in God, and endurance until growth takes place. Then we have a better understanding of God’s power and how to use it and count on it in future trials.

RESPOND:

Dear Lord, as you challenge my comfort zones, please grow in me trust in You. I want to be more like Christ every day. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES:

With Creating a Beautiful Life: A Woman’s Guide to Good-Better-Best Decision Making by Elizabeth George, prepare to create a more beautiful and productive life and make each day more meaningful. God's best awaits you when you choose to live His way!

REFLECT:

Recall this verse when you are challenged out of your comfort zone: “He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 1:6)

REMEMBER:

God wants to move us toward His perfection, not our perfectionism.