Friends Needing Friends: MY COMFORT ZONE

Today, I am stepping out of my comfort zone.

I would like to share with you a reading from one of Joyce Meyer’s devotionals that encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone to serve the Lord.

Joyce Meyer wrote: “All I know is that God has always used and still does use women as leaders and teachers, preachers, ministers, missionaries, authors, evangelists, prophets, and so on. Just remember that God loves you and wants to use you in powerful ways to help other people. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that God cannot or will not use you, just because you are a woman. As a woman, you are creative, comforting, sensitive, and you are able to be a tremendous blessing. You can bear a lot of good fruit in your life. You don’t have to merely pass through life unnoticed, always in the background. If God has called you to leadership, you should lead. If He has called you into ministry, you should minister. If He has called you to business or as a homemaker, you should boldly be all that He has called you to be. When you have made your choice to go on in life…pray…ask God where He wants you to serve.

This advice from Joyce Meyer should encourage the widow as she decides to step out of her comfort zone and with God’s help to go on with life to be what God wants her to be.

Now let’s take a moment to check our Bibles to see what was recorded from several of the widows as they took their giant step out of their comfort zone.

Naomi & Ruth as they traveled to Bethlehem.

After Naomi’s husband and two sons died she knew she had to go on with life. God led Naomi to choose to return to Bethlehem her home town. This would be a major step for Naomi traveling many miles with her daughter-in-law to reach her destiny. They both prayed to God for help and protection as they began to travel this long and dangerous road. Please take the time to read the whole story of what happens to Naomi and Ruth in the Bible - book of Ruth. Naomi was taking her first step-out of her comfort zone to where God wanted her to be. Naomi had no idea what God had in store for her but she had faith and took that first step out of her comfort zone to what God had for their future.

Rizpah protecting her sons.

Rizpah, another widow in the Bible had to become a very brave woman when her life changed. You can find the whole Bible story about Rizpah in II Samuel 3:7. It was a very difficult time for Rizpah when her two sons were murdered and hanged. Rizpah watched over their dead bodies from barley harvest until fall rain. All she wanted was for her two sons to have a proper burial. As Edith Deen states in her book “All the Women of the Bible” – “Certainly no woman had ever shown greater endurance or stoicism amid such tragedy. When Rizpah was King Saul’s wife and was living with royalty, did she ever think her first step out of her comfort zone when she became a widow, would be so tragic. And yes, God was with her, and answered her prayer. Finally together with Saul and Jonathan, Rizpah’s sons were all buried in the family grave at Zelah.

One of our widow ladies at the meeting of Friends Needing Friends stepped out of her comfort zone when I asked her to help me with the message in front of the other ladies. With God’s help she did step out of her comfort zone. God gave her the courage to do just that and I wouldn’t hesitate to call on her again.

Now to put this whole message altogether….. Watch out 2016 – with God’s help – I’m on Fire and once again ready to step out of my comfort zone. Are you? Remember to pray first and keep God’s promises as your guideline.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13