WHEN GOD TAKES YOU OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
The only way God can do His perfect work in you is if you let Him. Unfortunately, there is a “self” that prevents or hinders Him from doing so. This “self” is your biggest enemy towards achieving the vision that God has given you.
It is amazing how after receiving a vision from God, people feel and think that they can do things on their own. A person sees a vision of a big congregation and she gets excited, thinking that she can make it happen, with God’s help. It’s almost like putting God on the backseat and just asking help from Him along the way. She then starts doing Bible studies and preaching gigs, with the end in mind of fulfilling the vision of a pastor or preacher. This is no different from Abraham, who after receiving his vision from God, went his own way and tried to make it happen. He not only failed but created a problem that the whole world is suffering from up to this day.
It is true that God will not give you a vision that He has not equipped you for. If your gift is in music, your vision will have something to do with this. If your gift is communication, then chances are your vision has something to do with speaking or writing. However, you have to remember that you already had these gifts before you got saved. And after you get saved, these gifts have to be put to death before it can be resurrected. This is something that most Christians fail to understand. I was one of these people.
Now I want you to read these Scriptures below from Ephesians 4.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers ...
This Scripture backs up what I was saying that in order for God to use the gifts He has given you to fulfill the vision He has for you, He has to put it to death first. This “putting to death” is what I call the “humbling process” that is a prerequisite to being promoted to the next level.
Unfortunately, we can’t be humbled in a place where we are familiar with; otherwise we will just cling to it. This is why God takes us out of our comfort zones before He can humble us.
Let me give you a very clear example from my own personal experience.
Before I got saved I was already a motivational speaker. Speaking is my gift and I have known this long before I surrendered my life to Jesus. After I got saved I had a clear vision of being a lady preacher. It was so easy for me because this was my comfort zone. My comfort zone was the corporate environment; with professional people listening to me give some motivational talk. I brought the Gospel to the corporate offices and gave them free seminars that were Bible-based. That was easy! I also offered my services to churches for their visioning and teambuilding programs. Again, that was easy! I did conferences for professional women. That was a piece of cake. Then God started moving me out of my comfort zone. From the corporate offices He moved me to the women’s prison. It took some adjustment on my part but it was not very difficult. I was still in my comfort zone. God kept moving me out of my comfort zone one step at a time. Finally He moved me out of my birthplace, my country, my family, my friends, and brought me to a far-away land here in the U.S. But I still did a lot of preaching which was still my comfort zone. It was when He took me away from an actual congregation to preach to that I started feeling the pressure. Though I still preach here on facebook and even do video teachings, it is not the same as having actual people listening to you face-to-face. As if this was not enough, He made me a caregiver to my husband’s grandmother who used to not like me. He also began to teach me what my role as a help-meet is – so far from what I thought it was.
Each step of the way was not easy, yet it humbled me more and more. I have now reached a point where I don’t care anymore whether I become the preacher that I envisioned myself to be or not. I am content and happy where God has placed me in this season. In fact, this is the best place I have ever been in my whole walk.
Though God is not done with me yet, I have learned to go with His flow. I have learned to let go and let God. I have learned to be very sensitive to His leading. I have learned to seek for and remain in His perfect will.
I praise God for taking me out of my comfort zones.
~Lisa Maki~
It is amazing how after receiving a vision from God, people feel and think that they can do things on their own. A person sees a vision of a big congregation and she gets excited, thinking that she can make it happen, with God’s help. It’s almost like putting God on the backseat and just asking help from Him along the way. She then starts doing Bible studies and preaching gigs, with the end in mind of fulfilling the vision of a pastor or preacher. This is no different from Abraham, who after receiving his vision from God, went his own way and tried to make it happen. He not only failed but created a problem that the whole world is suffering from up to this day.
It is true that God will not give you a vision that He has not equipped you for. If your gift is in music, your vision will have something to do with this. If your gift is communication, then chances are your vision has something to do with speaking or writing. However, you have to remember that you already had these gifts before you got saved. And after you get saved, these gifts have to be put to death before it can be resurrected. This is something that most Christians fail to understand. I was one of these people.
Now I want you to read these Scriptures below from Ephesians 4.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers ...
This Scripture backs up what I was saying that in order for God to use the gifts He has given you to fulfill the vision He has for you, He has to put it to death first. This “putting to death” is what I call the “humbling process” that is a prerequisite to being promoted to the next level.
Unfortunately, we can’t be humbled in a place where we are familiar with; otherwise we will just cling to it. This is why God takes us out of our comfort zones before He can humble us.
Let me give you a very clear example from my own personal experience.
Before I got saved I was already a motivational speaker. Speaking is my gift and I have known this long before I surrendered my life to Jesus. After I got saved I had a clear vision of being a lady preacher. It was so easy for me because this was my comfort zone. My comfort zone was the corporate environment; with professional people listening to me give some motivational talk. I brought the Gospel to the corporate offices and gave them free seminars that were Bible-based. That was easy! I also offered my services to churches for their visioning and teambuilding programs. Again, that was easy! I did conferences for professional women. That was a piece of cake. Then God started moving me out of my comfort zone. From the corporate offices He moved me to the women’s prison. It took some adjustment on my part but it was not very difficult. I was still in my comfort zone. God kept moving me out of my comfort zone one step at a time. Finally He moved me out of my birthplace, my country, my family, my friends, and brought me to a far-away land here in the U.S. But I still did a lot of preaching which was still my comfort zone. It was when He took me away from an actual congregation to preach to that I started feeling the pressure. Though I still preach here on facebook and even do video teachings, it is not the same as having actual people listening to you face-to-face. As if this was not enough, He made me a caregiver to my husband’s grandmother who used to not like me. He also began to teach me what my role as a help-meet is – so far from what I thought it was.
Each step of the way was not easy, yet it humbled me more and more. I have now reached a point where I don’t care anymore whether I become the preacher that I envisioned myself to be or not. I am content and happy where God has placed me in this season. In fact, this is the best place I have ever been in my whole walk.
Though God is not done with me yet, I have learned to go with His flow. I have learned to let go and let God. I have learned to be very sensitive to His leading. I have learned to seek for and remain in His perfect will.
I praise God for taking me out of my comfort zones.
~Lisa Maki~
