Leaving the ‘comfort zone’

By Charles Christian

While we have all seen the “Welcome” signs in various states, I have also run across the “Now Leaving” signs: “You are now leaving California,” etc.

Of course, these signs give away to pranks like one I recently saw online: “You are now leaving New York … Last person out, please turn off the lights.”

Some places are hard to leave. Others are not all that difficult to depart.

In life, perhaps the hardest place to leave is the “comfort zone.” The comfort zone is the name we give for sets of circumstances with which we have grown familiar. The comfort zone has a degree of safety but is not completely safe.

This is because familiar areas of comfort can become ruts, places where we are stuck and filled with circumstances we have trouble seeing beyond. These are fine for periods, but too much time in the comfort zone can lead to wasted opportunities and personal frustration. Also, if we stay there too long, our comfort zones can stunt our growth.

Often in the Bible, we see God calling faithful followers to leave places of comfort. In the Old Testament, for instance, God calls Abram and his wife Sarai (later known as Abraham and Sarah), both of who are senior citizens, to “Go from your country, our people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation and I will bless you …” (Genesis 12:1-12).

This was no small task. These elderly people had to take all their possessions and leave the comfort and protection of the only people and land they had known, simply because God had called them to something greater. This “greater” thing that was promised involved passing through many obstacles and challenges along the way.

Stories like this abound. It seems that when God calls people to something new, the first place they have to leave is their comfort zone. They are called to trade a life of relative comfort and familiarity for a life of many unknown variables. Although God accompanies the call with promises of growth, there is never a promise that it will be easy. In fact, in the New Testament, Jesus clearly says to his disciples: “In this world you will have trouble.” The good news, according to Jesus in the sentence that follows, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

The big question: What areas of comfort is God calling us to exchange so that we may continue to grow as people of faith? We can celebrate times of peace and rest, of course. However, we should also allow for times when God calls us out of places and times of comfort and into new situations of growth and wisdom.

These times of stretching and exiting our comfort zone can become guides for others who are also being called to new areas of obedience and growth. The good news is always that God promises His presence and peace as we leave our comfort zone.