Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Comfort and Destiny

Yesterday I referred to the bridge that connects the "lands" of Comfort and Destiny. Comfort can be a rather misleading term. More often than not, the land of comfort isn't comfortable at all. More accurately, it's simply familiar. How many times have you heard stories of women who were abused by their husbands or boyfriends, but chose to stay with them? They don't stay because they're comfortable. They stay because their afraid of being alone and starting over. They're afraid that if they make a change, they will face greater danger. So they opt for familiar.

That is an extreme, but common example. In fact, we have all been there. We've all stayed in relationships of some kind that were toxic to us. Whether it was a friend we allowed to influence us in ways that were not healthy, or a job that was so negative and stressful that it literally affected our physical and emotional health. We've all experienced times when we chose the familiar over the unknown.

Some of you know the story of why I moved from San Jose to Rocklin. In short, I was standing face to face with exactly what I've been talking about. The choice to remain comfortable, or to chase my destiny. In the comfortable, I knew exactly what next year was going to be like. It was going to be just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. I hadn't been growing. But God heard my prayers about not wanting to be the same. I wanted to grow. I needed to grow. Rocklin wasn't and isn't my destiny. Being willing to step out of what was comfortable forced me to explore my own potential and gifts. After 18 months, I believe I am very different from who I was before. It wasn't about leaving San Jose. Nothing bad was happening there. I needed to prove to myself, and to God, that I was serious. I needed to take an extreme step of faith to make an extreme step of growth. My destiny isn't a place on a map. It's my character. It's my integrity. It's my maturity. It's in using the tools God gave me to make a difference wherever I am.

If you find yourself facing the choice of comfort or destiny, of the familiar versus the unknown potential you have in Christ, I urge you to go for it. Choose your destiny in Christ! It takes faith. Intense faith. But it brings tremendous liberty. And liberty is in increasingly short supply these days.

Go for it!