Leaving the Comfort Zone - Robyn Burke

"The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your native country… and your family… go to the land that I will show you… I will bless you … and you will be a blessing to others.” Genesis 12:1, 2 NLT

Why would God ask Abram to travel into unknown territory? Why couldn’t God just bless him where he was?

My husband’s compensation for work with a non-profit organization depends on the generosity of others. While Bruce felt called to the position, it did require a certain amount of faith. Could we trust God to provide for our needs?

Each month has been a test. God has provided, but it didn’t stop us from questioning why we couldn’t be blessed with a steady paycheck. Why did we have to do a juggling act with the bills every month?

Scratching my head over the latest batch of bills, I thought about my husband. He works hard; he deserves to be fairly compensated. Overwhelmed, I felt tears rise as doubt bubbled to the surface. The night before, we’d met with our small group and shared our prayer concerns. My fears spilled out in an angry vent. Our friends gathered close and bolstered us with prayer.

I filled Bruce in on our current situation. “We’re four hundred short of paying all the bills.”

“Four hundred is how much shop rent is.” Bruce mused. We’d been renting shop space for several years and had just this month made the decision to let it go.

“Next month we won’t have that expense, but there’s no way I can extract that amount from this month’s paycheck.” I sighed.

At dinner, Bruce pulled an envelope from his coat pocket. “Eric gave me this today.”
I wondered what our neighbor was up to—inside, one hundred dollars.

Bruce shrugged. “Said he just felt we needed this.”

The next day, a friend stopped by with a check. “For letting me store stuff in your shop.” he explained.

Three hundred dollars and we now had enough to pay shop rent.

Abram was called out of the comfort zone of his life into the unknown. Why didn’t God just bless him where he was? Leaving our comfort zone forces us to trust completely in God, not ourselves. And He never disappoints.

Leave your comfort zone for a life of trust. God will not fail you.

A published author at the age of 13, Robyn Burke knew early on that God had gifted her with a love for writing. From crafting church bulletins and newsletters to obsessing over power point presentations, Robyn eventually returned to her first love: short stories. A regular contributor to Faithwriters.com, she also is a NaNoWriMo 2009 winner. Blissfully married, with grown children and grandkids, Robyn hopes that her writing can be used by God to bless others. Read Robyn's devotions.