9.8.18 Praise & Prayer Prompt: When He Calls You Out of Your Comfort Zone

PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• When you go to the She Speaks Conference, which is a Christian women’s conference for writers, speakers, and leaders, a common question is, “Which track are you on?”
Basically, we’re asking, are you a writer or a speaker?
There’s a lot of cross-over.
Writers are often asked to speak about their books; speakers have to write their talks.
For me, my prayer for several years has been, “Lord, please use me to write, but don’t make me speak.”
I really don’t like to get up in front of other people.
Even small groups.
I prefer my place to be in the background.
I like to blend and not draw any attention.
However, the Lord has spoken to my heart and I finally succumbed to obedience; tomorrow I’ll lead my Sunday School class.
I’ve spent two weeks thinking about this and honestly, my stomach is in knots.
This is crazy-outside my comfort zone.
I’m already well-aware of how unqualified I am to even write, much less get up and talk about Scripture.
But God keeps reminding me that this isn’t about me…
It’s about Him.
And obedience to what He wants me to do.
Philippians 4:13 is the ultimate Christian go-to verse for encouragement… “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
But today, I want to focus on another passage…
2 Corinthians 3:2-5 says, “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God…”
I love this passage.
While the Philippians-brand-of-encouragement is quick and succinct, I love the visual of being a letter of Christ, written with the Holy Spirit of our amazing God.
Whatever God calls us to do, He equips us with whatever we need (Hebrews 13:20-21).
He does not call us to failure, but He calls us to let His glory shine through us.
If that’s not a humbling concept, I don’t know what is.
While the plain, bland, beige girl in me would prefer to sit quietly at the back of the room, He has another plan.
And my job is to trust Him and let Him lead the way.
And if He calls you out of your comfort zone, you may be eager to say, “Sure, Lord! When do I start?!”
Or maybe you’ll be more like me…
And spend months arguing with God before finally wiping clammy hands on your pants and saying, “Okay, fine, I’ll do it. I’m scared to death, but I know You’ll be with me.”
Whichever describes you better, obedience to Him is key.
Our job is to listen, obey, and follow.
He takes care of the rest.
Today, as you pray, if there’s something God’s been calling you to do, ask Him to make His will clear.
Acknowledge your unworthiness while praising His immeasurable greatness.
Let His light shine brightly through you as you fulfill His calling and purpose for your life.