Success comes in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on who you are talking to and what their particular views are on what it takes to become successful in their life. But for a Christian, success takes on a totally different meaning. A good definition for the word success in the life of a Believer is simply that we are fulfilling the plan and purpose of God in our lives. I want to assure you that God had a plan for your life from the moment He created you, and His desire is that you would find out what His plan is and then to fulfill it by seeking Him daily, listening for His direction and then obeying what He leads you to do. In other words, He wants you to have a close and intimate relationship with Him in order to be able to fulfill His plan for your life, because the plan He has for you will not be the same as the plan He has for me. He has a different purpose for each of us, and it’s only by finding and living in the center of His plan that we find the fulfillment and success that He wants us to experience. And it’s only by walking closely with Him every day that we will able to be everything He desires for us to be. When we rely on Him, we can wake up every morning excited to face a new day knowing that He will do through us what we could never do alone, touching the lives of those around us and making a unique and powerful difference in the world in which we live. That, my friend, is Success!
So the obvious question we need to ask is, if God has a purpose for our lives, and if He desires that we be successful in fulfilling that purpose, and if He has given us the way to become successful by making a lasting difference in the lives of the people around us…why is it that so few Christians are actually living in the success that God intends for them to live? Surely we all want to be successful, and surely we all want to fulfill God’s purpose for creating us in the first place. And knowing that fulfilling God’s plan for our lives is the most rewarding way to live, why is it that so many Christians are living mediocre lives? And, even further, what is it that we need to do to correct the situation and overcome the obstacles that cause us to fail at being the successful and contented Christians that He desires for us to be? In order to find the answers to our lack of successes in the Christian community, we need to identify some obstacles that hold us back from being all that we can be for the Kingdom of God.
The obstacle I want to look at is, I believe, the greatest obstacle or barrier in the lives of many Christians today. That obstacle is our own personal comfort zone. So let’s take a look at our comfort zones and see what they are and why they stand between us and success in our Christian life, and what we can do to overcome this huge barrier that keeps us from living the life that God created us to live. The thing about our comfort zone is that it appears in a number of different forms. I believe that if we can identify some of these along with what God’s Word has to say about them, we will be able to move past them and on to the fuller life that we are intended to live. So I want to invite you to join me as we look at seven different comfort zone areas that can trip us up, hold us back and cause us to miss God’s best plan for our lives, and what God has to say about them.
1. Fear – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) If you are serious about being a success for the Kingdom of God, this is one place where you will stand frozen, unable to move forward in any venture for the Lord, and it will trip you up in your quest to serve the Lord if you allow it to. Fear will put a grip on you and tell you that it is far better to stay safe and not face the very thing that God has called you to do. You will put off making a move in the direction God desires for you thinking that one day, you will not be afraid, and then you can move forward. What you need to understand is that everybody who ever does anything of any significance did it in spite of their fears. You decide to step forward anyway. Every singer who ever faced a crowd with a microphone in hand has trembled inside at the thought of singing in front of a group of people. Every speaker who has ever spoken in public had to stand in the face of fear in order to deliver the message they needed to deliver. Fear is not something to cower from, but fear is a challenge to be overcome. And the way to do that is to remember God’s Word to Joshua, “…for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” He will be with you if you will just step out in faith and trust Him. Yes, you will tremble…yes you will be uncomfortable…but once you act in obedience to whatever it is that God has asked you to do, you will be filled with so much joy and contentment that you will be anxious for the next time when you can serve God.
I remember as a young Christian, I was walking along the path that wound around a beautiful lake close to our house, and there was a bench on the path where I used to sit to talk with the Lord. This particular day, a young lady was sitting in “my” spot on “my” bench, and so I started to just walk past her to the next bench down the path. But as I started to pass her, the Holy Spirit instructed me to go and talk to her. Well I was very shy back then, and I never just walked up to strangers and started talking. I know that for some people that is not a very fearful thing, but for me, it was devastating. But I was determined to be obedient to God, so I walked over to the bench and ask the young lady if she minded if I sat on the other end of the bench. As I sat there, I commented on the beauty of the lake and she responded. Then she also told me that she had come quite a distance to sit here on this bench, and then she began to pour her heart out to me. She was going through a very difficult set of circumstances in her life, and as we sat there, the Lord began to work through me to touch that girl in a special way. I asked her about her relationship with the Lord, and she told me that she knew Him but had not been in church in a long time. Then I asked if I could pray with her and she seemed so happy for me to do that. As we sat there praying, she began to weep and I began to weep. God was there that day at that bench on the path at the lake, and by the time I left, she and I were both walking on a cloud because God had touched our lives in a very special way. And He showed me that, even when I am afraid, if I will just step out in obedience, He will be with me.
If you know God is speaking to your heart about doing something for Him, just swallow your fear and do it anyway. He will be with you and you will rejoice in His goodness.
2. Discomfort – “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" (Numbers 11:5-6) Nobody ever said that following the Lord and being obedient to Him is an easy road. The Israelites longed for the “good life” they had experienced back in Egypt. All they could think of was the good food they had enjoyed; but they had conveniently forgotten the bondage, the toil, the beatings and hard labor they were forced to perform. They forgot that their children had been slaughtered by a tyrant of a ruler. God wanted to deliver them, but all they could think about was the “comfort food” they had become familiar with. Their lives in Egypt were anything but comfortable. They had cried out to God for deliverance day and night. But now that they were out in the wilderness, the place where God could teach them to be children of Jehovah, they complained that they missed the comforts of Egypt.
And how did God react to the people complaining about the “discomfort” He had led them into? Numbers 11:1 tells us, “Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.” He was not pleased! Amos added, “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes!” (6:1)
The truth is that the Christian life is anything but comfortable. It is challenging and it will require that you be uncomfortable at times. But it is the most rewarding life you could ever imagine, and your success will bring you great joy.
3. Inadequacy – “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (I Corinthians 1:26-31) If you think you are inadequate to serve the Lord…you are absolutely right! If you think you are unworthy, you are…but He chose you anyway. There is nothing of eternal value that you can do in your flesh or in your own power, but with the Holy Spirit residing in you, there is nothing that is impossible for you. In fact, the very reason that God chose you could be because you are fully aware that without the Holy Spirit living in you, you have no ability at all.
You may have grown up with a family that constantly reminded you of your inadequacy. You may have felt inferior all your life. But take heart in the fact that God chose you because He knew your heart and He knows your abilities, and He knows that with the gifts and the passion and the experiences that you have received from Him, you are just the right person for the job. In your own abilities, yes…you will definitely fail! But the good news is that you don’t have to do it in your own abilities. He is the One Who will enable you to do that which you are sure you cannot possibly accomplish. The truth is that He delights in our inability. That way, all the glory goes to Him!
4. Unknown Future – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) It’s a promise that we can count on. No matter where we are or what we do, Jesus promised to be with us. He told us to go and serve Him, He told us to share the gospel with others, and He told us to make disciples of them. And while we are doing this, He will take care of the hard stuff. Why should we worry about the future as long as we know that Jesus is there with us? It doesn’t matter what happens or where He leads us, He will never fail to take care of us. What do we have to be concerned about?
Do you remember that God called Abraham to leave his country and his family to go to a place that God would show him? God didn’t even tell him where he was going, but Abraham chose to go anyway. Talk about leaving his comfort zone! It was a long journey and he had no way of knowing what obstacles and challenges lay in store for him, but Abraham chose to be obedient to God and He fulfilled His promises in the life of Abraham. And today, we know him as the “Father of many nations”. Was he afraid of what lie ahead of him? Of course he was, but it didn’t stop him from leaving the comforts of home and following the Lord wherever He would lead. And that is what we must do also. The uncertainty of our future is what makes it a faith walk. We go forward not knowing what lies ahead, but resting in assurance that our God will take care of us every step of the way. We cannot remain where we are, doing what we are doing just because it is predictable. Doing what we have always done will not lead us to success. Only in trusting Him and moving forward according to His direction will we ever find success and contentment in this life. We must trust our future to Him.
5. Past Failures – “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Paul had the best advice of all. As the old saying goes, “You can’t go forward if you are always looking back.” Let’s face it…most things in the past are done, and you can’t change them. If you can change something you have done and make things right in a particular situation, by all means, you should. But most of the things that we have done cannot be undone, and the best we can do is to repent of them, make amends to the people we have hurt and then move forward. But the problem is that our minds and our emotions want to keep digging those things up from our past again and again. Some of us have some pretty horrendous things that we have done in our past. We can’t seem to shake the guilt and Satan keeps them in our thoughts. But God wants us to be free in our hearts. Sometimes going forward means taking care of past failures with loved ones who are already gone. I want to share a personal story with you of how God chose to set me free from some past situations in my own life.
“It was January of 2007, and the Lord began to deal with me about putting some old stuff in my life down once and for all. For me, it took a much needed vacation to the town where I was born. I had relatives there that I had not seen in a long time, and I had an aunt that was over 85 years old. I thought I may never get another chance to see her again, so I took a trip. As I got closer and closer to the town, I knew exactly what it was the Lord wanted me to do to deal with those burdens from my past once and for all. I got up one day and was planning to go to the cemetery where my parents were buried. I remembered it was way outside of town in one of those places where a small country church maintained the cemetery on their grounds. I had been there a number of times…it was the place where my grandmother and grandfather were buried, along with several uncles, and a cousin were also laid to rest there. But before I went out, I stopped at the local department store and bought a bouquet of fresh flowers. I knew in my heart that I was there to lay down some hurt, and some guilt and some painful memories, and when I left that place, I expected to be free of them all. First I went to my father’s grave and there I told my daddy that I forgave him for all the hurt he had caused me in my childhood, painful things that I had never gotten over. I cried tears of forgiveness as I laid a flower on his grave. I never wanted to have to deal with that stuff again. Next, I stood at my mother’s grave. I told her how very sorry I was that I had let her down and that I wasn’t there for her the way I should have been while she was going through so much in her life. I didn’t understand how hurt and alone she felt, and how afraid she must have been. I told her I wished I had been there more to offer love and comfort. I knew I couldn’t change the past, so as I laid the flower on her grave, I left that burden there. Then I moved over to my cousin’s grave. There had been a situation years before, and then he had a car wreck and was paralyzed. I thought about going to see him a number of times, but I never did. I should have told him about Jesus and I should have made things right with him, but I kept putting it off. I had no idea that he was hurt that badly…and then he died. I knew his mother told him about Jesus and how to be saved, and I hoped that he did, but we never talked about it, and I carried around that guilt for years. I laid a flower on his grave, and left that burden there. And when I walked away from that cemetery, I was free. The guilt was gone, the pain was gone. Satan still comes along now and then and tries to use my past against me, and when he does, I take him for a trip down memory lane. I tell him, “Satan, do you remember that day back there in that cemetery? Do you remember when I talked to my dad, and I talked to my mom, and I talked to my cousin? I left all that stuff back there and I am free in the name of Jesus, and you can’t use that against me anymore. You’re a defeated foe, and the victory is mine in Jesus’ name. Hallelujah!” You too can win the victory over things that happened in the past. You may not be able to change them, but you can be set free in the name of Jesus.”
The truth is, we cannot move forward until we deal with the past. Give it to God and He will direct you as to how you need to deal with the past. But once those are dealt with, it’s time to go forward into the purpose that God has for your life.
6. The Expectations of Others – “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10) One thing is for sure…we will never please God if we insist on being everything to everybody. Know for certain that when you set your sights to moving forward in the things of God, you will face opposition. And sometimes the most strongly opposed will be the ones you love the most. Not only will you have your own comfort zone to deal with, but the people around you will have theirs too. They have grown accustomed to the way you relate in their lives and they will want you to continue to be to them the same that you have always been or how they envision you to be. It may be your spouse, your children, your boss, your co-workers, your friends or any number of people who have come to depend on your presence in their lives. It could even be your pastor if he is dependent on you teaching that Sunday School class or being the church secretary or usher. The challenge will come when you MUST make a decision whether it is more important in your life to be obedient to God and begin a new work for Him, or whether you must please the people in your life.
Think about this…what was it about the disciples that so attracted Jesus to them? They weren’t especially godly men nor were they dignified or wealthy. Probably they weren’t even very distinguished looking. The thing that attracted Jesus to them was the very fact that they made themselves available. Let’s look at some of those calls and see what their reactions were like.
“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:18-20) The following verses describe the calling of James and John. They were in the boat with their father, and the scripture says, (vs. 22) “and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.” Matthew was called similarly, “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me’. So he arose and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9)
Contrast those examples with this scripture, “Then another of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’” (Matthew 8:21-22) And then there’s the all-familiar story of the rich young ruler. In Luke 18:22 Jesus had outlined what the man needed to do to inherit eternal life. Then He said, “You still lack one thing, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.” But verse 23 says, “But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.”
In order to follow Jesus, we must be willing to walk away from the expectations of those around us even though it has been a position that you have been comfortable with (and they have too), and be willing to move forward at the direction of the Holy Spirit.
7. Opposition to Change – “He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” (Mark 7:13) Have you ever attended a church that refused to change? What happened to that church? The ones I have been to that refused to change and insisted on continuing to do things the way they always have, usually came to a place that they were dead spiritually; and very few people want to attend a dead church. The same thing happens to us as Christians when we refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to continually change our lives and grow us more and more in the things of God. Our spirits stop growing right at the place where we stop allowing Him to change us. When we come to a place that we insist on the same old music, the same old Bible lessons, the same old…same old…same old…then we have allowed our comfort zone to control our future and we will never fulfill the purpose of God in our lives. If God is to rule, we must be open to change!
When I look back on my own life, I realize how far the Lord has brought me by how much change He has worked in me. I am totally different than I used to be, and I praise God for that. He makes me to be more like Jesus and I get to learn new things about the Lord and about the Church. I get to meet new people, and I get to learn new songs and I get to learn new ways to minister to others. In order to be the person that God wants us to be, it requires change. You cannot fulfill the purpose of God, and you cannot be a success in the Kingdom of God unless you allow Him to change you into what He wants you to be. Change…it’s painful, it’s difficult…but so necessary to become the Successful Christian that you want to be.
So tell me, what is there in your personal comfort zone that you need to walk away from? Is it fear, discomfort, inadequacy, an unknown future, past failures, the expectations of others or opposition to change that is holding you back? Won’t you allow Him to make the changes necessary to prepare you for His plan? I challenge you to step outside your comfort zone into Success and see what He will do with your life.
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