When was the last time you did something that was out of your comfort zone? Something that made your heart race, your adrenaline pump and your stomach tighten? Are you already squirming just thinking about it? Don’t stop reading just yet, hear me out for a minute …
Our culture praises comfort and ease. With online shopping, pre-made dinners and social media, it would be entirely possible to live our lives without ever leaving the comfort of our own homes. I know, I know … that’s extreme, but the reality is that fewer and fewer of my friends are willing to take risks.
The thought of being physically uncomfortable is becoming more and more removed from current reality. I’m starting to wonder if this propensity toward comfort is slowly luring us away from living out our stories and robbing us of living the lives of true faith and adventure that God is calling us to.
I recently signed up for a cycling tour to benefit a well-respected charity. It’s two days of riding nearly 160 miles through steep Colorado mountain passes. It’s an event that is totally out of my comfort zone.
After I signed up, I thought, “What did I just do to myself? It would be so much easier to write a check to the charity and be done with it.”
And that is absolutely true.
By signing up for this event, I’m not only donating money, but I have to be physically prepared and present. It’s affecting the way I eat, sleep, train, the way I schedule my week, the way that I’m spending my free time … it’s impacting me in ways that merely writing a check never would. Sending in a donation would definitely be easier but I would be robbing myself of the change that is happening within me as I participate and I would be missing out on an incredible story.
A lot of times it can be easy for us to write a check and to mentally check the box of “living out our faith.” While the way we spend our money is incredibly important, Scripture also talks about the importance of our deeds; our physical actions.
Romans 12:1 (NIV) says,
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.”
And Isaiah 58:10 (NIV) says,
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
There is something important about actually showing up and participating. There is change that occurs, both in the lives of the people around us and in our very own hearts.
So, what is God asking you to do that is out of your comfort zone?
Maybe, like Michael in the video below, you feel God nudging you to host a Compassion Sunday at your church. For years Michael threw Compassion Sunday materials in the trash, wishing someone else would share about sponsorship at his church. One day he realized that the person was him and amazing things happened when he shared his sponsorship story.
Perhaps you feel led to take a trip to visit the child you sponsor, start an online fundraising campaign or devote more time in prayer for children in poverty.
Can I challenge you to break out of your comfort and jump into the bigger story?
Will you take a risk and live out your faith in a way that will make your heart race and stomach tighten a little? I guarantee that as you step out in faith and take action on behalf of children living in poverty, you will be drawn closer to the Father heart of God and you will have amazing stories to tell.
Learn more about hosting a Compassion Sunday ›
What action are you going to take today? Tell us in the comments below! We’d love to encourage you as you step out of your comfort zone.
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Reading your write up gives me inspiration and buttress all that God is asking me to do about the needy. The Lord led me to compassion .com, I live in Nigeria and I have a mandate to “make the widows heart sing for joy” I am starting a HOPE CENTRE where we provide practical and spiritual help to orphans, widows and children who live amidst poverty.Our goal is to sponsor destiny making sure they make heaven while they are not also miserable on earth.We are just starting this vision and we will really appreciate all the helps and assistance you could render us in terms of training ,counselling advice and any other form of franchising since your organisation has been doing for years what we want to do. We will appreciate it if you can also lead us to similar organisation we can learn from.Thank you.
Gideon, thank you so much for your compassionate heart to help the widows, orphans, and children in need in Nigeria. Unlike a relief and development agency, Compassion International is a non-profit, child development agency that works with existing church-based organizations. The funds that we receive are donated from sponsors for individual children in Compassion-assisted projects to provide for their educational, health and nutritional needs. Because our work is in partnership with the local church, we can only locate in developing countries where the Evangelical churches have building facilities and enjoy the freedom to minister in their communities.
Sadly, Compassion is not currently working in Nigeria, nor do we have plans to expand there in the near future. Regrettably, we do not have access to additional funds to help with outside ministries nor can we recommend any specific organizations that might. We want to thank you for the love and concern that you have for those who are in need in Nigeria. We sincerely pray that God will bless your efforts to minister to them. God bless you!
Wow, God has dropped something on my heart that I can do something that will take me out of my comfort zone so i touch a child’s life. So help me God.
My husband and I stepped outside our comfort zone when signed up to sponsor a little girl in Tanzania. I’m sure we will continue to step outside our comfort zone as our journey unfolds.
How soon until I should be receiving our welcome packet? We signed up on April 1st. Thank you so much!
Hi Christine! Thank you so much for responding to God tugging on your heart to sponsor sweet Hairath! She is such a cutie! I see that we were able to set up your account and send out your welcome packet on April 7th. It normally takes 7-10 business days to receive it in the mail. Therefore, you should have it within the next week or so :). Please feel free to ask us any questions as you begin fostering a meaningful relationship with your kiddo! Have a blessed day!
Hi Christina, thank you so much for such a prompt reply!
I thought of my daughter when I read this. She is definitely taking steps outside her comfort zone! She is so moved by the literacy problems in her sponsored child’s country that she is applying for the Peace Corps and wants to serve two years in Dominican Republic as a literacy promoter! Peace Corps has accepted her application and she is under consideration for the position. 🙂 It is so true that Compassion does not just change the child, but sponsors are changed as well. God uses this ministry in so many incredible ways! Thank you for this article and reminding us to listen to God’s nudging and take risks that He can use to move mountains if we let Him work through us!
Praying for your daughter, Sandy, as she waits to hear back about the position :)! God has incredible things set apart for her!
I think God must be prompting me (or perhaps this word is for most American Christians) outside of my/our comfort zones! There was a post similar to this on World Vision’s blog recently. Great minds think alike! As I said in response to that post, I am a geeky person who loves books like The Hobbit and TV shows like Doctor Who. One thing I have been wondering about over the past few years is if we find these stories attractive because we crave adventure. Not only are our lives made increasingly comfortable, they are also crammed full of activities — activities that don’t stretch us and that leave little time for adventure. One thing I feel called to do is to simplify my life in order to make room for the things that are truly important… and those things could very well lead to discomfort and exciting growth!