@ Etude- Call to Leave One's Comfort Zone

@ Etude- Call to Leave One’s Comfort Zone

Now in Haran, the Lord had said to Abram, “ Go away from your country and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”

Genesis 12 v 1

Abram was asked to leave his native place, his comfort zone and move to a new land shown to him by the Lord. Very often in life, the Lord will also ask us to move out of our comfort zone to a new place or experience, a challenge zone where our reliance or dependence on Him would increase. It might have been a wrenching and painful experience for Abram to leave his father, his relatives and everything he had known from childhood behind him. But he did not hesitate in obeying the call and will of the Lord. It was his attitude of implicit trust in the word, wisdom and will of God that enabled him to obey the call. 

The Lord promised to bless Abram in the new unfamiliar territory into which he was asked to journey into. Abram moved with his family hundreds of miles away from his known and familiar native place of Haran. Soon after he reached the country of Judah, he experienced a famine. This did not deter or discourage Abram. He did not complain to the Lord and ask why was he facing these difficulties despite being obedient and faithful to the Lord. He did not know the entire roadmap of the journey the Lord had called him to undertake. He was content to know what to do next. The Lord asked him to take refuge during the famine in Egypt.

A life of faith often requires us to move away from our comfort zone into a new and unfamiliar challenge zone where our dependence on the Lord is tested. The Lord will strengthen our faith through tests and trials. Abram trusted the Lord to do what was best for him and did not doubt His intention. We should know that He has plans not to harm us but to prosper us and to bless us. He holds our hand as we travel through unfamiliar territory of the challenge zone. We might go through a certain difficult time or harsh terrain but it is meant to build our faith, character, patience and inner strength. Instead of despairing and wringing our hands with frustration, worry or fear, we should entrust our lives into the dependable hands of the Lord.