The Challenge Zone

UV 2126/10000 The Challenge Zone
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

Jeremiah 12 v 5

The Lord does not want us to remain within our comfort zone. He desires that we live in the challenge zone where our faith, our inner strength, our spirit are tested. He places many obstacles and Jordans in our paths so that our faith in Him is not only tested but each time we overcome or have a breakthrough, it is further strengthened. He does not want us to be complacent and idle. But we need to utilise all our abilities, all our resources, all our talents for the greater glory of God.

Our strength is tested only in adversity. The depth and resilience of people is made evident only when they face storms. All Job’s wealth, children, lands, cattle were taken away to prove the genuineness of faith. Adversity is a fire that removes the dross or impurities in our faith and makes us come forth as pure gold. The essence of all great testimonies is not about how they prospered but how they faced, endured and overcame great trials and tribulations with the help of the Lord. We should therefore not complain or murmur when we confront problems or challenges in our lives. We need to hold onto our hope that the Lord will see us through it safely.

We need to contest with forces much more powerful than us. We may be facing strife around us but we should hold on to the peace of Jesus within us. As we strive in the challenge zone, the Holy Spirit will comfort us from within and egg us on from without. He is the great enabler, the empowerer and will supply us all the energy, the strength, the resources we need to contend with the mighty and yet emerge victorious. The eaglet loves to stay in its nest, provided for by its mother but the mother eagle nudges initially and then forcefully pushes the reluctant eaglet from the nest to cause it to fall from the nest high up on a tree or a cliff. It does so not to harm the eaglet but to give it the feeling of the fall, the sense of fear, the desire and stimulus to attempt to flap its wings and fly. The mother eagle will break the fall and catch the eaglet before it hits the hard ground but will again persuade the eaglet to try to fly. So also the Lord trains us to run with horses, soar with eagles and roar with the lions.

Prateep V Philip