Comfort Zones

Saturday will be the first time I get to share my testimony to others, well in person anyways. I know I’ve shared parts of my story through my blog. I’m double nervous about this “sermon” (if you can call it that) because for one my old youth pastor is going to be there, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know I went through half this stuff, and secondly it’s going to be the first time I speak without having a manuscript with everything I have planned to say (I do have an outline though).

I mean it should be easy, just talking about me, yet I find myself in this craze that I need to have everything planned out. I know my story. So why should write every word out? I shouldn’t. My feelings I feel are coming from my own desires of being comfortable.

We all have those comfort limits. For me it’s know exactly what I’m going to say before I get up there so I don’t mess up… so I don’t mess up. This got me thinking, why does it matter if I mess up? I mean God won’t look down on me for messing up, and neither will my audience. I think it’s because I’m making it matter if I mess up. I want to do my best for God, but through speaking to Him he is telling me I don’t have to be perfect because He loves me the same anyway.

Is there something in your life that makes you really uncomfortable so you don’t do it? If there is I pray that you take the courage to step out and try it. It’s hard for us to grow in Jesus when we don’t even try to step out of our zone. How do you expect to grow if you are constantly in the same position and not being pushed?

Now there are limits to this, I’m not saying go 30 days without eating cause that’s out of your comfort zone, but I am saying, if you feel God leading you to maybe talk to someone about Him, or go and make friends with the new person at school, do it. When we trust God with things that make us uncomfortable He’ll reward us. And believe me it makes you feel so much better once you do step out.

What I found is that making the decision to do hard things for God is actually harder than actually doing the thing itself! Accepting my pastors offer to do my first sermon was so much harder than actually doing it. See before I accepted, even after, I had all these reasons why I should do it, I’m too young, I can’t talk in front of people. But then I realized, yeah I can’t speak in front of people but God can. And once you realize that I promise you that you can do anything!

“I can do all things THROUGH Christ who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13

“So do not fear for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you and uphold you in my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10