Blast Out Of Your Comfort Zone

I can't do that!  No way! I've never done THAT before!  Oh, I'm not smart enough to handle that project.  I've never gone to that area before.  I can't speak in front of an audience. Horsehockey!
What you "can't" do is crawl out of that restrictive comfort zone you have built for yourself.  This warm fuzzy little place is safe but if you step out of it you might be what?  Embarrassed?  You might fail? Yes, we don't have to worry, quite as much, in life if we don't do anything that we might not succeed at.  How very safe, but dull and unrewarding life can be if we stay within that safe little womb we call our comfort zone.



BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!
That used to be an Army recruiting slogan.  But that is what escaping from your rut or comfort zone is all about.  In this case, the comfort zone I am talking about is within your church.  So many of us have this fear of failure or being unqualified to serve just because we have never tried to serve in certain areas. But if you just push yourself past that comfort zone you might be surprised at what  you can accomplish, and the rewards are awesome.  On a personal note, I used to have a major fear of public speaking.  I would rather have had rabid fire ants dumped in my shorts than to get up and speak in front of a group.  The very thought of standing if front of the congregation and speaking made my stomach churn and my eyes bug,to say nothing of developing soggy pits.  Having a supportive pastor who pushed me out of my comfort zone helped me see that yes, I could do some public speaking and guess what? I didn't explode.  I wasn't ridiculed, and no, I didn't pass out from the fear of making a mistake.  The point being, we all have our little fears, phobias and self doubts about our abilities.  But many times if we just push ourselves to try something new, we find out that YES, we can do it.  We can serve in ways we didn't think we could serve our church.


YOU'RE NOT ALONE!
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:30 the we all have specific talents to offer.  His analogy of the church being a body of many parts tells us we all can contribute to the whole body.  Does that mean the if we do summon up the courage to step out of our comfort zone and try something new that we won't fail? No way, Sunshine!  So what if we do fail?  Give something else a try.  The main thing is to not be afraid because you are not facing change alone. God is there to guide and protect you.  


I'M NOT CONVINCED!  I HATE CHANGE.
The obscure little prayer found in 1 Chronicles 4:10 has changed lives and attitudes about service.  Most of you know it as the Prayer of Jabez.  I pray it daily.  If your are not familiar with it,  
Jabez calls upon God to "bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory".  But it goes on to ask that God be with him when he steps out to explore new opportunities. "that your hand be with me".  Then Jabez also asks, "and that you keep me from evil", asking God to protect him from those who would act against the path of service God has provided.  Finally, Jabez asks for protection from acts he might commit against others in his mission for God. "That I may cause no pain".
I would strongly recommend the book by Bruce Wilkinson, Beyond Jabez.  What a great lesson in getting out of your comfort zone by connecting with The Prayer of Jabez.  Another wonderful source for  learning why you should get out of your comfort zone is Pastor Rick Warren's book, A Purpose Driven Life.


REWARDS!
The point of this little rant has been to tell you if I can climb out of my cozy little safe comfort zone, anybody can.  There was no doubt in my mind that if I tried public speaking in any form, the sky would fall and I would grow warts in places where warts are not supposed to grow or I would be struck down on the spot by lightning and eaten by large carnivores.  Actually, after forcing my way through my first attempt at public speaking I found that in fact, I was going to live and people actually said I did a good job.  Whew!  All that worry and sweat for nothing!  So, be it speaking, teaching, helping with cooking, working with church finance, helping with Sunday School or serving with a community help group,  get off your backside and give it your best shot.  What's the worst that can happen?  You fail? So what?  We all fail.  It's not a bad thing, God just points us in another direction.  Trust me,  God has plenty of options for your abilities.  TRUST HIM!