When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” - Matthew 8:18-22
To be honest, I am not keen on change. I’ve neither had an adventurous nor an experimental nature. I am not one of those people that is eager to try new things – truth be told I dislike new things. I like things to stay the way that they are and every day to be the same without stress or hassle! I can only imagine how the in the scripture verse above disciple must have felt. It is comfortable to go and bury one’s dead. It seems only right to do what feels right in our heart; what makes us feel less threatened. But Jesus took him away from the norm. I am sure he desperately wanted to do what was accepted in the sight of his family and friends. How does one not invest time in paying due respect to the dead? How very important it is to us that we do what everyone does.
Staying in my comfort zone has never been an issue for me. I love my comfort zone – until God took me out of it. Even though I was in a relationship that wasn’t functioning at any level, I was comfortable. I would have stayed forever without making the necessary changes to make things better. I would have muddled along in my dysfunctional comfort zone! But as you get older and wiser, you realize that we must all venture outside our comfort zone from time to time. We must all make changes – sometimes drastic in order to move into the bigger and better things God has in store for us. I am not in any way advocating that when in a bad relationship, one must quit. Not by a long shot. The bible is clear on the acceptable grounds for divorce. Divorce for frivolous reasons is a sin but not an unforgivable sin. If you are in a bad relationship, get out of your stagnant comfort zone and seek God for restoration or resurrection – depending on how bad of a state you are in but don’t just sit there and do nothing. You can never get a different set of results without making any changes.
In the same token, we need to begin to thank God for closed doors. The job that you worked faithfully at for years and years suddenly lays you off. It is a familiar job and a comfortable position but thanks be to God because He has something bigger and better for you to do. The marriage you thought will last until one of you kicked the bucket is suddenly over, thank God regardless. His part or her part in your journey is simply over. The best place to be is in the will of God. If God wanted you to retire at that job, they will have passed you over and laid off the person in the cubicle next to you. If God wanted you to still be married to that man or that woman, he will have restored your relationship when you asked him to. Sometimes we stay in the familiar and refuse to look elsewhere or take a step of faith even when we know that we are busy flogging a dead horse.
If you are stuck in a rut today – in your career or in your relationship, make the necessary changes as directed by the Word of God. Shake things up and make amends even if it seems that you are venturing into unfamiliar territory. If you walk in line with the Word of God, God will honor your efforts. In the start and finish of life’s journey, we will often find ourselves in places called stuck but we don’t have to remain there. Venture out of your comfort zone today and change your life for the better.
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