Thursday, 07 August 2008
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Stay In Your "Comfort Zone"
by miss poppy
I have heard many people expound on the idea that we need to get out of our comfort zones or that if we are content as Christians, then there is something wrong. I used to agree wholeheartedly with this, and it made me very anxious when I thought about it. Now I disagree. My concepts of comfort and contentment have completely changed.I used to get vaguely uneasy whenever I thought about God. I viewed Him as a person I could never please and who would always ask me to move out of any place of comfort I came to. Because I was such a bundle of nerves, my moments of peace were few and far between. It was torture to think that God disapproved of these few moments of comfort.
However, as He began to reveal His love to me, my ideas took a 180 degree turn.
I now believe that comfort and contentment are natural byproducts of a growing Christian life. No, not comfort due to inactivity or apathy (which is actually numbness rather than comfort), but the deep comfort that comes from a close love relationship with God.
The truth is, there is no comfort zone to be found outside God's will, and within God's will, perfect comfort is always available. As a result, my goal is to go deeper and deeper into God's comfort zone, centering myself on the true contentment that He provides and saying goodbye to anxiety forever.
What do you find comfort in? Do you find comfort in your relationship with God?
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Comments (36)
I think the distinction we often have difficulty making is between comfort and complacency. God is our comfort. God is our contentment. But when we become complacent and no longer have the desire (or perhaps resist the desire) to grow and learn beyond where we are, that's when we become complacent. And complacency is not a healthy thing for Christians, in my opinion.
As far as I've read, people should be comforted by god but not comfortable with god. Does that make sense? He's not your bestest buddy evar who will just pat you on the back and be all "Oh it's okay that you cheated on the math test."
Everyone who saw or heard god in the Bible cowered in fear and awe. Does that sound like someone you can be comfortable with? A divine being? Certainly doesn't to me. Regardless of the fact that the Christian god loves you, he's still a GOD. The god. The one who brought fire down from the sky for Elijah and wiped out the vast majority of the human race with water. The one who struck Paul blind on the road to Damascus. The one who will return to Earth brandishing a sword of fire (lightning?) with lightning (fire?) coming from his eyes (sorry, my Revelation must be rusty. : / ).
Someone to be worshiped, in awe of, not someone you're comfortable with. I think people forget that and feel as though god is just like any old human. Certainly, Jesus himself was fully human but you have to remember he was fully divine as well.
Don't be "comfortable" with the entire creator of the universe. Be comforted, but not comfortable. Comfortable can equal stagnation. Don't be comfortable with someone you respect and worship.
"28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find REST unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. "(Mathew 11)
I think, when christians say that comfort zones are bad, they think about part where Jesus talks about lukewarm people. "16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev.3:16). We need comfort that Jesus offers us, but it can't get so comfortable for us, so we ll stop telling other people about Him.
Actual question now that I got that random comment out of the way::
I find comfort in Tetris. XD XD
@bittersunday@xanga - True; but in Hebrews the author draws a firm distinction. He states:
Hebrews 12-
18(AK)For you have not come to (AL)a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
19and to the (AM)blast of a trumpet and the (AN)sound of words which sound was such that those who heard (AO)begged that no further word be spoken to them.
20For they could not bear the command, "(AP)IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED."
21And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "(AQ)I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling."
22But (AR)you have come to Mount Zion and to (AS)the city of (AT)the living God, (AU)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to (AV)myriads of angels,
23to the general assembly and (AW)church of the firstborn who (AX)are enrolled in heaven, and to God, (AY)the Judge of all, and to the (AZ)spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24and to Jesus, the (BA)mediator of a new covenant, and to the (BB)sprinkled blood, which speaks better than (BC)the blood of Abel.
The difference is in perspective. When the Israelites came to Sinai, they were the wretched rebellious sons. With Jesus as mediator, Christians come to the new Jerusalem, the city of God, to commune with God; not in fear, but in honest love and worship.
@Evowookiee@xanga - That wasn't my point, really. Christians shouldn't be scared silly of god, but they should respect him. I find that too many Christians I know have a very "safe", "nice", "cute", "comfortable" view of god / Jesus. He is none of those things.
You can love and worship him without fear, but also without thinking he is a super super nice guy, know what I mean?
That was my point.
@bittersunday@xanga - ok, we're on the same page. I agree. Too many people do have the 'buddy Jesus' mantra; but then there are those who are so paralized in fear of offending God that they become useless.
At this point I guess I should do the obligitory thing and quote C.S Lewis; The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe:
"He's not a tame lion..."
@Evowookiee@xanga - Hah. Sometimes I do that too. It's sort of expected, really. I don't even like C.S. Lewis but it is a fairly good analogy.
"He's not safe. But he's good."
It depends what we are comfortable in. I think when people talk about "Comfort Zones," they mean the things you're already familiar with. From that standpoint yes, we need to leave familiarity and embrace the call on our lives. However, if we define "Comfort Zone" as the area in which our unique combination of talents, abilities, and gifts can be most utilized, I think that's exactly where G-d wants us to be. When people speak of getting out of "comfort" they actually mean leaving complacency, and that is something the church most certainly needs to hear.
Very well put.
Personally, I think that stepping outside of your "comfort" zone has more to do with personal growth, life challenges, etc. rather than your relationship with God. If your relationship with God is solid and strong then you will be able to handle life's curveballs and uphill battles easier because you have the love and support of God behind you. Therefore, if you fall down then He will pick you up, dry your tears, kiss your boo boo and send you on your way...ready to tackle the next challenge.
I think that when people say that, it can mean different things. I am at an extreemly challenging place in my life full of growth. It's not comfortable because God is breaking me and molding me. However, I love the place God has me in and I'm comfortable in it depsite the hardships and growing pains.
I don't ever want to get comfortable in my relationship with God, I always want to be striving for more in him.
I think when people refer to the word comfortable, they are refers to almost being "lazy" in their walk with God. Not the comfort and peace in God in our relationship with HIm.
For the most part, I find comfort in my relationship with God. Sometimes though, I feel as though I'm disappointing him.
I find that when I trust God, take a step of faith out of my comfort zone, I get crazy blessed by God. Blessed beyond comprehension.
Have a great day!
i think the whole point of existence is to grow and learn from new experiences. if God wanted us to remain the way we were at birth, He'd have kept us in Heaven. personally, i'm always willing to try something at least once. and if it's something i'm uncomfortable with, so be it. there's no such thing as a bad experience, just a bad outcome.
@bittersunday@xanga - The fear of God is a powerful theme throughout the Bible. But at the same time we can call him "Abba", "Daddy". Somehow God is both the One on the throne in Isaiah 6 that made Isaiah cry, "Woe is me!" and the Father who runs out into the road to welcome his wayward son.
Aslan is perhaps one of the better illustrations in literature of that tension. Lucy can bury her face in his mane, but "He's not a tame lion!"
Hebrews 4 talks about "entering God's Sabbath rest" as both something present and something to come.
And of course there's Matthew 11:29, which was cited above: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
@Roadkill_Spatula@xanga - Yeah...people use the Narnia analogy a lot...
See my comment to Evowookiee. It explains my comment a bit better.
@iknowHimdou@xanga -
I agree with you. Without stepping out of my own comfort zone, I wouldn't have been blessed with the good friends I have right now.
It just depends on what you mean by "comfort". Yes, prayer can give you comfort, but aModernBeauty is right... by comfort I'm looking at growth as a person, rather than relationship with God.
I am not convinced that I want to be "content".
My heart was made for Eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men".
There is so much of God that we have never seen or could ever comprehend. To me, contentment can be interchanged with complacent. It has a negative connotation to me.
I guess I would use the word "satisfied", but at the same time, I never want to be completely satisfied. I don't want to stop or become stale. I don't want to ever think that I've got it figured out.
However, I do find rest and peace in my relationship with God.
@bittersunday@xanga -
If by being comfortable with God you mean taking Him for granted or
failing to revere and worship Him, then I agree we shouldn't be that
way; however:
Before Jesus, people were not justified before God, and they had reason to cower in fear of Him.
Since Christ, however, we can come boldly to God's throne of grace (the Bible's words, not mine), and His perfect love is supposed to cast out all of our fear.
That doesn't mean we stop revering God. He is holy and righteous and so much more amazing than we can even fathom. But a major part of Christianity is that if we have accepted Jesus, God is our tender Father. We can call Him Abba-Daddy-and find comfort in His lap.
I know from experience that God wants me to be comfortable in His embrace and enjoy Him. The Bible says to delight ourselves in the Lord. He is the most enjoyable being in the universe. That doesn't mean He stops being awe-inspiring. I can be comfortable and worshipful at the same time.
I know you're not a believer; however, the God you're not believing in is both a Comforter and a comfortable place to rest. He couldn't be one without being the other.
I believe when they are talking about "getting out of your comfort zone they are talking of something completely different then what your talking about. I agree with "aModernbeauty" When I get out of my comfort zone I'm still comfortable with God. God is my comfort, My help. my source of knowledge. God is everything. But He does want me to grow. In order for me to grow I need to get out of the comfortable part of life where I'm just relaxing and glad I'm where I am. I need to stretch out and reach for that high place. I need to walk on those "hinds feet" "in high Places" with God. That is often scary and hard. Sometimes it hurt deeply. But that is what makes a stronger person. That is what makes us able to see things from a different angle and maybe help someone else that may be going through the same thing I just went through. This is what I see as getting out of my comfort zone. yes we are comforted in Jesus by trusting Him to help us through these rough hard places. But still reaching for that higher goal. God Bless you sister!!! A friend, Ellen
@momaduck@xanga - I would argue, though, that the "comfort" that keeps us from moving ahead in God is not real comfort. The only true comfort is found when we are in His will, and His will is never complacent. As I said in my post, anything else is numbness (or complacency).
I agree with you that people mean something else when they talk about this, but I don't believe comfort zones actually exist outside of God's will. It's never truly comfortable to not be doing what He wants. That's my point.
I agree with you that we need to be in God's will even outside our "comfort zone" Although there are people that do not believe in God and still have what they call there "comfort zone" I believe what they are talking about as there comfort zone is whatever they are the most comfortable with in there life. They have no i dea what a real Comfort zone is. But that is where they are coming from. So in that case it is a comfort zone outside of Christ. But for the believer we do need to be in a comfort zone through Christ ( if you want to call it that) and still reach out and do things that may not be so comfortable to the flesh. But willing to do it for Christ. Your Friend, Ellen
@momaduck@xanga - Agreed.
Whenever I am called out of my comfort zone (by God), I find myself more blessed or a blessing to another. I don't want to sit in comfort on a bench of laziness and do nothing... that to me is comfortable (to my flesh) but it doesn't give me a hunger or thirst for Christ... it makes it harder for me to do what God wants me to do.
Getting out of the "comfort zone" to me is doing something that my flesh gets nervous about (I tend to be shy in large groups of people, not wanting to talk as an example...), but God wants me to do... obedience was never easy... but in the long run its rewarding.
God used Moses... and he def had to get out of his comfort zone... there were many like that I am sure!