If you were to ask me "Where is my favorite place to be?" I would be tempted to say, “My comfort zone.” Though it is not a physical place per se, it is a very real place. A place I love to be. A place that God is constantly urging me and sometimes pulling me out of. It is the one place where He cannot use me. My favorite times to go there are when I am asked to speak or teach in front of a crowd. 

As I think about it, I am reminded of Moses when he fled from Pharaoh and went to Midian. Exodus 2:21 tells us that Moses was content to dwell there. That is exactly how I feel when I am in my comfort zone: content to dwell there. God understands why we like to stay there, it is where we feel  comfortable and safe. But He wants us to have true comfort and security, which is only found in Him.   

Let us look at what The Bible says about stepping out of our comfort zone: God has given us the account of Moses as an example. Moses is now living comfortably in Midian, safe from pharoah’s wrath. One day, as he is tending his father-in-laws' flock, he sees fire in a bush, yet the bush is not burning. As he moves towards it, God speaks to him from the midst of it. God has a job for Moses that is going to pull him way out of his comfort zone. 

God tells Moses that He wants him to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses responds the same way we do many times, by looking at himself and asking the question,”who am I that I should do this?’ So often when God is calling us to do something, we look at ourselves and see our inadequacies. But, God wants us to look to Him for His sufficiency. He replies to Moses, “Certainly I will be with you”. God promises us like He did Moses, He will be with us, we won’t be going alone. Isaiah 41:10 says, "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Moses’ next question was, “who am I to say sent me?” What Name do I give them? God responded by giving him the name to use, He said in Exodus 4:14 , “I Am that I Am! Tell them that I Am has sent you. He takes it further by telling him to tell them that The God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent him. God has given us His Name as a place of safety. Proverbs 18:10 tells us, The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe. We go representing Almighty God.

Moses’ final attempt was to tell God, he couldn’t speak well enough. So many times while preparing to deliver a message, teach a lesson, or give a presentation I’ve felt myself becoming fearful and wanting to back out. Each time I found assurance in God’s Word and His sufficiency. God told Moses in Exodus 4:12to go, and He would be with his mouth, and teach him what he should say. 

Every reason that Moses gave for why he shouldn’t go was based on fear. Like Moses, our reasons for retreating to our comfort zones are also fear-based. God has given us Moses and many others in the Bible as examples of how to step out of our comfort zone and into faith. It tells us to step out in faith that the eternal God is with us and will be our help and our strength.