A Walk On The Wild Side

"Oh, That is so cool! I'd love to do that!" If I've heard that once, I've heard it a thousand times, and I heard it again lastnight as we were relaying a couple of testimonies of what we saw the Lord do through our ministry recently. Sometimes I sit back and ask myself, why aren't more people stepping out and seeing some really cool results. I think it has to do with not recognizing the opportunity for ministry when it presents itself. We can get caught unaware sometimes and don't recognize the opportunity until it has passed. But there's another factor that I think plays even a bigger roll in missed opportunities. It's what I call the comfort factor.


I got a call from a friend of ours recently who was all in a nervous tizzy because she started getting invites to minister in different places . . . something she was not used to doing. In the ensuing conversation, I identified and pointed out to Theresa (name has been changed to protect the innocent) that she was reacting to the invite in a negative way because this was something that was outside of her normal comfort zone. The Lord will draw us out of our comfort zones from time to time so that we can grow not only in our experience levels, but we can grow in character and spiritually as well. I'm sure the disciples of Jesus faced this challenge in their comfort levels numerous times as they travelled around with Jesus.


Another factor that was involved in her reluctance was that it was going to require a higher level of commitment from her when it came to ministry. In the Websters dictionary the word "commitment" means "the state or instance of being obligated". Obligation is something that a lot of us try to avoid all together for the most part because it can take us beyond our comfort zones and often into other peoples uncomfortable situations . . . that is if we're really serious about ministering to others. So the next time you see an opportunity, why not step out of your comfort zone, take a walk on the wild side and see some really cool results.