It seems easy to jump into something new, when the old is not what you want. Then something happens when that new change means that things inside of you have to change. That the way you were before, is not okay. That you have to let go of things, you have to sometimes let others into the mess of your life, and sometimes you have to do things differently then you normally would. I hate using the phrase “comfort zone” to describe this, because it is so often used but so often we find ourselves in a routine. Even when we are in new situations and environments, we stick to what we know.
That comfortable place.
But God didn’t call us to be comfortable. He called us to follow him, to go into the unknown in faith. He didn’t say it would be easy. Just like the story of the rich young ruler when he asked what he would have to do to enter the Kingdom, Jesus told him to get rid of the comfort that he found in his possessions. We all have these comforts. Whether its our stuff, our family and friends, a certain place or something we do, we have this place of comfortableness. But the reality is that those things don’t last. Those things if anything, keep us from seeking and finding our real comfort in the one thing that lasts forever. Jesus Christ.
I’m realizing that I hold back from giving my all. Not really investing or trying to learn new things. I try to stay in the little realm of the comfort I have, seeking things that I already know and what I know I can do that doesn’t require giving more of my effort to try something that i’m not good at. When there are other people who already are have that ability I so often think I do not need to give the effort to step out of what I know. The problem is that this is not living in total surrender to the Father, who loves and gives me strength to live a life as His child. We ARE his children. We are made perfect in Him and should live as his sons and daughters. Children who give their all. who will risk it all and forget the fear and insecurities but step out and give our all to serve God. Not holding back and staying in our comfortable place but stepping out and give our all to glorify God in EVERYTHING we do.
His love is not dependent on what we are good at or what we can offer. He does not put us in situations that He wont equip us for; all we need is in Him. When we are at our worst, He loves us. When we have nothing left, he gives us strength because He is in us and it’s not our life but Christ living in us. He is the center, the core of our being, and we are to live in that. He is everything and even when we fail or have no motivation for the day, He is to be praised, because He is good.
It is not by our own strength that we are good or have things to offer but its Christ in us. Its sometimes to easy to see our faults and all the ways we don’t measure up, but the truth is that he has given us all the things we need and that it’s not about us anyway. But its about glorifying Him in all we say and do. Serving Him with our whole hearts. Giving our all to love him and love others as he commands us to do. Its not easy and sometimes its really hard because we don’t feel like it. But its in those moments we see Christ all the more because when we are weak then we are strong. Because its not us at all but Christ. And that’s what its all about.
Romans 8:15-16
