The Unpredictable, Uncomfortable, Undeniable ways God Loves Us

by Dayna E. Mazzuca 

 

OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

 As long as I can remember, I've said I would NEVER do the following Three Things:

1. Pay big money to learn how to write. (As a published writer, I figured money should be coming in as a result of my writing; I shouldn't be putting "out").
2. Take an online course where I was back in the Student's Seat. (I've gone to school for a long time, so if I'm going to learn more, I want it to be in person and through God's person-to-person anointing).
3. Embrace Social Media. (No fan of SM, I was simply hoping to avoid it as long as possible).

THEN -  I felt God nudging me to sign up for an online learning course that cost a pretty penny and guaranteed to teach me more about SM. 

Hmmm... why does God do this? Why does he nudge us directly into the thing we are avoiding? I do not know... BUT! I signed on, paid up, learned lots and couldn't be more pleased with the outcomes, especially with my new website and spoken poetry blog! The course has been great, everything from online mentorship (including phone calls from the instructors) to an online student support and critique group. Amazing stuff! Praise the Lord.

(FYI: the course I took is called Write Brilliant and is offered by writers Margaret Feinberg and Jonathan Merritt - highly recommended!)

 

GOD TAKES US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES FOR 2 REASONS. 

1. The first reason is to show us new things; to take us places we’ve never been; to grow us in ways we would’ve missed had we never got out of our easy chair.  

2. The second reason he stirs us up and moves us on is to press the reset button, refresh the screen, to show us familiar, old, comfortable things in a new light—to offer us fresh perspective on what we already know well.

In other words, he either expands our tent—taking us new places, giving us new ground, or he strengthens our stakes—deepening our appreciation through a fresh perspective on what is already long-familiar and well-know.

WE DO NOT HAVE TO LEAVE HOME for our stakes in God to go down deeper. God can take us out of our comfort zone with the person we’ve lived with for 20 years, or the children we thought we knew, or the book project we’ve dreamed of for decades. We can do deeper right where we are. Deeper is good.

WE CAN, HOWEVER, LEAVE HOME ANYTIME God invites us to do so. I’ve moved too many times in my life (32 at last count) to think God only works on familiar territory with friendly faces and in comfortable ways. I know he also works when we are willing to leave our homes, cities and people to face the unknown. Expanding our territory, learning a new language or culture, writing in ways new to us because suddenly we have fewer friends and are spending more time alone, observing life more closely. Broader is good.

DEEP AND BROAD

Deep and broad: sounds like the love of God alright. And really, there is nowhere we can go from his great, big love for us. So, if he is calling you out of your comfort zone, know that you are in good hands. He may have a deeper, richer experience for you and your writing right where you are, right now. He may be asking you to go deeper. Or, he may be asking you to literally and figuratively broaden your horizons, to venture beyond familiar boundaries (and barriers). He may be asking you to expand your tent, to broaden your perspective and horizons. 

Only you know what God is asking you now. 

Whatever it is, I encourage you to say, “YES,” and to go with God wherever he leads, which may very well be out of your comfort zone.

I’m glad I did, not only for the results in my writing, but also for the Sheer Delight of being SURPRISED by the One who Loves me Best. After all, any romance can grow dull. And life with God is often a love affair!

VISIT DAYNA - www.daynawrites.com

Ready for My Public by Susan Barclay

Please don't call on me; I'm busy daydreaming

I always hated public speaking. All through elementary and secondary school, oral presentations were my greatest academic challenge. My heart raced, my hands went cold and clammy, and there were multiple trips to the bathroom before I had to deliver any speech.

That being said, I managed to do well on them under duress (my face may have been pale, my knees knocking, but I still got good marks). That is, I did until my freshman year English class at university.

We'd been asked to dissect a poem and present it to the class. We had to prepare a handout and then orally share our thoughts on the assigned piece. Tables were set up to form a rectangle and we could give our 'speech' from our seat. 

I don't know what to say!

How much can you say about a single poem? The challenge was too great, at least for me. While others managed to come up with a verbal report that differed from their handout, mine was pretty much a mirror image of what was on my paper. My professor was not impressed. When I'd finished, she kept her head down, then simply instructed the next student to proceed.

I was humiliated. After every previous student, she'd had something to say, even if it was just a simple 'thank you.' After me, nothing. I mean, she couldn't even say 'thank you' for my effort? It's not as if I hadn't tried, even if it didn't appear so in her eyes.

I got my first (and only) C in English. After that, I determined not to take any more courses that required a verbal element. I decided not to pursue a Master's degree in Psychology because there were seminar courses. Unbeknownst to me, oral presentations awaited in the Master of Library and Information Science program!

More than twenty-five years later, I still remember that insensitive English professor's name. But I also remember another name much more fondly: Adele Fasick. She was the Library School professor who taught the Children's Literature courses and it was she who helped me gain my confidence, using one simple sentence.

We'd had to prepare an oral presentation and paper. I believe it was a group effort, though we all had individual submissions. When I got my paper back, Professor Fasick's comment included these words: "An excellent presentation as usual, Susan."

"An excellent presentation!" Wow! "As usual"? Double-wow! Really? I was so happy!

I'd be happy to speak to you!

Public speaking didn't necessarily become my favourite thing to do, but after this moment, it got easier and easier with practice. I took one Toastmasters class at my local community college, and as a Young Adult librarian, had the opportunity to deliver many oral presentations - in the form of book talks and instructional classes on researching an essay, writing a paper, etc. Once I became a writer, I began to perform readings of my work at Word on the Street and at the library. I participated in an author panel discussing romance writing and even went on the radio for an interview following the publication of my first short story.

I have well stepped out of my comfort zone. I am ready for my public. And I know that words are important: they can destroy or build up. I know what kind of words I want to use! Don't you?
___________________

Please visit Susan at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.ca

The Discomfort of Obedience by Steph Beth Nickel

Do you find it easy to identify an organization’s or an individual’s shortcomings but harder to identify what you should do to make the situation better?

Yes? Me too.

Recently I made some notes about things I’ve appreciated about Christian organizations I’ve been part of.

Different groups have different strengths. Here are some of them:

A deep desire to know God

Commitment to study the Scriptures

Efforts to facilitate unity among believers

Call to exercise gifts, abilities, and talents in the furtherance of God’s kingdom

Commitment to build up one another

Dedication to lead by example

Realization that the Lord works in each one of us individually

I also recognize some areas of concern:

A double standard (Apparently, sometimes what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander.)

Talking about one another rather than to one another

The downplaying of sin in favour of emphasizing who we are in Christ

The downplaying of who we are in Christ in favour of focusing on our sinfulness

An overemphasis on the role of emotion in worship

A rigid perspective on what it means to do things “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40)

Belief that one’s theological perspective is without error and there is nothing to learn from those who hold a different view.

Making these lists was easy, but the Lord challenged me to do more than that. He reminded me that if I’m not part of the solution, I’m part of the problem.

Speaking of a double standard … if I identify an area of concern in another, I must be willing to examine myself, see if I also fall short in this area, and ask God to show me how to live honestly and authentically. I must also be willing to respectfully address the issue out of concern for others not merely because it frustrates me.

I must encourage others to go directly to the person with whom they’re having problems. I must also set a good example by doing the same.

So many aspects of life must be held in tension. There is godly confidence that the Lord will enable us to walk in obedience when we begin to grasp that, because of Jesus, He already sees us as righteous. However, we can become prideful if we forget that it is only because of what the Saviour has done for us that this is the case.

Expressing emotion is yet another area we must seek to keep in tension. Being loved by the Creator of the universe and being called to be His own should stir our emotions. Witnessing the pain and heartache all around us should cause compassion to well up within us. I believe we must make room for individuals to express their emotions in the context of corporate worship. However, we must remember the Bible warns us that our heart is deceptive. We must measure our emotions against the truth of the Scriptures.

I didn’t intend to spend so much time on the tensions of the Christian life, but the topic of theological perspective is another area in which we must maintain tension between sound biblical doctrine and the realization that just because another believer doesn’t agree with us on every point doesn’t mean they don’t have insight and understanding that has alluded us.

Perhaps the Lord is challenging you to make some of the same commitments.

It isn’t always comfortable. It isn’t always easy. But obedience is always the right choice.

Out of Your Comfort Zone by Sandi Somers

This month’s prompt comes from InScribe member Sheila Webster. “We are all ordained and equipped to do good works…God doesn’t give you all you need before you put your hand to the plough – but supplies you along the way.  The first inkling is the nudge to do something out of your comfort zone.”

Plunging Into Faith

Sheila’s prompt packs a powerful punch. She wrote so much in those few words. As I reflected on the many times God has prompted me and the results, I wondered how could I write this blog.

I felt like Rohadi Nagassar in an earlier IWO blog: “I had to think about this, and then think about it again, then think about it some more.” (Read it here). One day while walking to the nearby coffee shop to work on this blog, God prompted me to take each element in Sheila’s quote and elaborate on it.

“We are all ordained and equipped to do good works…”

What does it mean that God ordains us? To answer that, I often think of God’s explanation to the prophet Jeremiah.  “Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you…” (Jeremiah 1: 5).

God created us for a purpose and has special design for us. He chose us for this time in history, this location, this family, and this environment. He gave us our character, personality, and particular talents and abilities.

He created us to continue His story of redemption for the world. As writers, we are His hands and fingers on the keyboard. We are His voice to speak or sing to the needs of the world. We are His feet to go where He calls us.

And God has given us this task (ministry) of reconciling people to him. 2 Corinthians 5:18

“God doesn’t give you all you need before you put your hand to the plough.”

Sheila’s metaphor from farming is beautiful. I come from a farming background. On the first day my brothers plow or cultivate a field, all they need to do to produce an abundant crop is to plow. Just so, as we take that first step, plunging into faith, God gives us only what we need at that time. And just as God causes a crop to grow during the rains and heat of summer, God gradually opens up more and more of His plan.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)

“The first inkling is the nudge…”

We’ve all experienced twinges to do something: We may say, “I’d like to…” Or a direct word from scripture directs us to take a plunge into faith.

Our response is to listen to God’s deep twinges, in whatever form they take.

Sally Meadows’ advice at Fall Conference 2016 comes to mind: Is God whispering to you, casting you in a new direction? Pray into that vision.

Go…and you will be told what you must do. (Acts 9:6)

“…to do something out of your comfort zone.”

And here’s the crunch.

Just as we might experience a rise of faith when God first prompts, we often come face-to-face with our inadequacy. God’s plan seems sooo big. Or we’re afraid of failure. Or we cover our inadequacy by pushing our way into that venture using our own steam.

Sometimes I feel inadequate to write my monthly IWO blogs.  But if I focus on my inadequacy, I lose sight of God, His presence and power.

Joshua must have felt the same way. However, as he prepared to lead his people into the Promised Land, God said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you.”

But then He calls us to be strong. Three times God told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” Three times—to underscore that He would go with Joshua and give him victory. And God did just that. He is the God of the Impossible.

The One who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)

How is God challenging you to plunge into faith? What is your next step?