Dr. Randy Carlson
Jim Roan, an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker said, “Your life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by change.”
If that is true, why is it so hard for those of us who want to change in our lives to really pull it off? As I thought about that, I realized the reason is because we are secure in our comfort zone. It’s easy to get stuck living your life every day from a place where things seem to make sense, simply because that’s the way we did it the day before, and the day before that. But actually starting to change how we think and how we live is difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic has really forced us to change. In many ways it has blown us completely out of any comfort zone we had prior to our first knowledge of it.
As I was thinking about how all of us had been pushed out of our comfort zone, I realized that is when and where God does His most transformational work. Think about the people who had to find themselves outside their comfort zone before God really began to use them.
- Peter had to get outside his boat. He lived each day inside of his comfort zone, literally. Think about that story where Jesus had Peter walk on the water getting outside of his comfort zone to really test his faith.
- Saul, who later became Paul, had to get out of his comfort zone of being the persecutor of the church, riding on his high horse. He was knocked to the ground, and through that experience His perspective changed, and God used him in a mighty way.
- Nehemiah, in the Old Testament, served as a cup-bearer to the king. God moved him out to go back to his homeland and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
- Esther was the queen. She had to step outside her comfort zone, risk her life and confront the king. God’s people were saved because she took action.
God’s best work occurs outside of our comfort zone. Some of you could testify that it was during a time of divorce, a medical diagnosis that you did not expect, loss of a job or anything that moved you out of your comfort zone that God accomplished some of His greatest work in your life.
I don’t know what you’re facing. Some of you may be facing concern for your business. Maybe your marriage has been stressed or your finances have been damages because of COVID-19. It doesn’t really matter what it is. The choice to live an intentional life makes a difference. Intentional Living is about the way we live our lives as followers of Christ no matter what happens. An intentional life in Christ results in more freedom, more peace and deeper purpose. It brings God’s very best to your life. The intentional life is not about perfection but about an attitude. It requires making a decision and managing that decision every day.
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