Comfort, saying the word brings thoughts of ease and rest. It may bring feelings or thoughts of being fully satisfied, such as you would feel after a good meal. We all have our comfort zone. Areas we are familiar with and areas we do not wish to change. We may have a comfort zone in the area of cooking. We have certain foods we like to prepare, and when trying something new we back away for fear of failure. This desire to stay comfortable permeates our society and our own lives. It is especially prevalent in the majority of Christians in America.
To stay in one’s comfort zone is easy, you just keep doing the same things the same way. Sometimes we don’t push outside our comfort zone because of fear. One area that Christians seem to shy away from is witnessing. Jesus commanded us to go and tell in Matthew 28:19. In John 20:21, he sends us. In Acts 1:8, God will give us the power to witness. We are the tool He wants to use to reach the world. So why don’t we do it?
John 20:21 “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
Act 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
I believe fear is a great motivator to stop our tongues from sharing the simple gospel plan. There is a fear of rejection. We all want people to like us and think well of us. We want to be accepted in the circle of people God has placed around us. While these may be very real fears, when they control our witness it becomes sin. Our fears may be the tool Satan is using to keep people from giving their hearts to Jesus.
Selfishness may be another reason we won’t get out of our comfort zone and witness. It takes effort and time to be an effective witness. When we live in a “hurry up world,” where we allow activities and things to dominate our time, we are allowing selfishness to rule our lives. We are not only selfish and fearful when it comes to witnessing, but we are also passing on these same sins to our children who watch us. One day we will stand before God and give an account for our lives. It will be a fearful thing for me to face the knowledge of those who are in hell because I wouldn’t take the opportunity to share a witness with them.
We may be missing opportunities to witness because we value family above lost souls. While we are to love our family, and in some situations where they cannot take care of themselves, we are to take care of them. This is still no excuse to not spread the word about how to escape Hell and gain Heaven.
In Matthew 4:21-22, when Jesus called James and John, they left their occupation of fishing and left their father to follow Jesus. They exhibited what we should be doing. They left all to follow Jesus. Would you be willing to leave family or a great job to follow Christ? If the answer is “no,” you are not worthy to call Him master. He is not first in your life.
Matthew 4:21-22 “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”
Another situation occurred where a wealthy young man came to Jesus to seek Him as his master. He proclaimed he had kept all the commandments from his youth up, then came the challenge from Jesus. He told the young man to go and sell all that he had, give the money to the poor, and come follow him. This was more than the young man was willing to sacrifice for God. He was not willing to get out of his comfort zone to follow Christ, and it cost him his eternity in Heaven.
Matthew 19:20-22 “The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”
The comfort zone is different for each individual because we all place value on different things. However, anything that keeps us from witnessing, making connections with others to be a godly influence, or stepping out in faith to obey God, is a sin. We are disobeying because it makes us uncomfortable to obey.
God wants all of us to get out of our comfort zone to promote Him and His kingdom. It is up to us to obey. He will not force us. He will gently nudge us in hope that we love Him enough to step out in faith.
