I am not a fan of being uncomfortable.
Stepping out where I have no control.
Right when I think I am figuring out where God has placed me, He pushes me and challenges me to step into the unknown.
It is like life is a map with undiscovered regions. God unravels a new section of the map as I step into the unknown areas.
It is like I am climbing a mountain. I follow the well-worn path, until I reach a spot where the trail is rocky and overgrown.
The way is no longer known or comfortable.
The trail travels on the edge of the cliff and I watch as a loose stone falls down the mountainside.
The trail is unknown and dangerous.
The path is uncomfortable, but necessary to continue to the top of the mountain.
The view at the top is breathless and beyond anything that I could ever imagine—but the journey is rough and often dangerous.
This summer, God continually shoves me out of my comfort zone into the unknown.
He challenges me and pushes me to the limits of my strength for the betterment of my existence.
This often means stepping out into untamed waters or pushing past the known path. It means doing things that are not comfortable.
It all started with the invitation to travel across the country for an internship. I left my home for a much larger city—our nation’s capital. That was a leap into the uncomfortable for me.
I went from a very small town with two-lane roads to a large city with four-lane roads.
I exchanged trickling traffic for rushing cars.
My surroundings changed, but my God remained.
Just as I became comfortable in my new role as intern, God pushed me to step out on stage. He wanted me to take a small break from the background where I am comfortable, and try my hand at speaking.
I sat on the stage in front of 70 eager, wiggling, listening 5th and 6th graders. Their eyes stared at me, expecting great words to come out of my mouth. You know what came out?
Awkward sentences and lots of fillers—at least that is what I heard.
I rehearsed my vacation bible school lesson so many times in front of the mirror. I practiced the words until my tongue knew them backwards and forwards. I was prepared and terrified.
I am not comfortable on a stage. I love one on one conversations, but large crowds are petrifying. I stared at the wide eyes and began to speak.
Standing up there, in front of a group of listening children, I realized that I had to overcome my fears. I could not let my fears hinder my actions, whether standing in front of people, or going to a new place. I stumbled over my words, but it was not about me. It was not about my own agenda or my own words. It was about God and his ultimate plan for His creation.
Stepping out into the unknown often leads to a greater experience than I could ever imagine.
You unravel me, with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance, from my enemies
Till all my fears are gone
These words challenged me to not let fear hold me back.
Fear of the unknown hinders me from stepping out in faith and pursuing the passions God has given me.
God, the Creator of the universe, surrounds me with His Grace until all my fears are gone.
He is gives me the strength to take that first step.
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I am a child of God.
There is no need to be overcome by fear because God walks with me, into the unknown.
No longer a slave to fear.
No longer a slave to a comfortable life.
No longer a slave to insecurity.
Does God ever make His people comfortable?
No, the reality is that God calls us to be uncomfortable so that we can be challenged and grow as we are stretched. ‘
A comfortable life allows us to rely on our own strength.
He calls me to be uncomfortable so that I have to rely on Him.
The same God who created the world, leads me into unknown waters, or on overgrown trails so that I could be free to live my life to the fullest of what God has planned for my life.
He erases my fear with love and rescues me from my insecurities.
You split the sea, so I could walk right through it
All my fears were drowned in perfect love
You rescued me, so I could stand and sing
I am child of God
I am a child of God.
My prayer as I continue to practice the art of stepping out into the unknown is:
“Lord, I give up my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me a Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now & forever.”
—Betty Scott Stam
As hard as it is, I pray that God continues to challenge my comfortableness, and continue to challenge me as I discover how my passions meet God’s plan for my life.
Fearless at Heart 