Part Two: Three Excuses to leaving Our Comfort Zone for the Unknown

 

Do you find yourself making up excuses when God asks you to do something that is hard and unknown?

I don’t know many people who don’t. Our rebellious, sinful nature causes us to seek the most comfortable path, which never looks like the unknown path. There may be struggles or heartache down that path. The wide path that we are on looks easier and more traveled. But that path is not always best for us. 

Today I am continuing the list of lies from the first post in this series. In this post, we will jump into the final three lies we tell ourselves about the unknown. These are lies reflected in the song Elsa sings in Frozen II. I have reflected on each line of the lyrics and pulled out these veins of truth to combat the lie, specifically in our walk with Christ. 

Without more introduction let’s jump in. 

1. “I have importation things to do here; I am busy.” 

When you say that, I can just imagine God being like, “Oh, really?”

Business can be an excuse and an idol. It can control our lives and cause us to forget to rest, which we are commanded to do in Hebrews 4:11. That does not mean that God wants us to rest all the time, every day, but he wants us to do these two things: Seek first his kingdom (see Matthew 6:33a)  and press on towards the prize which calls us to Christ (see Philippians 3:14) 

Especially the second one, tells us why this excuse is so bad. If we are too busy doing other things, we might miss the chance to keep drawing towards Christ’s likeness. Sometimes giving up your time is the biggest sacrifice you can make.

If Christ is truly the thing you are dedicating your life to, you must not let this lie control you. Controlling your business and being attentive to what God is calling you, will only help me seek God’s kingdom more and press on evermore towards Christ. 

2. “I have done this before. Isn’t that enough? You can’t ask me to do it again.” 

I have been in this place before. You feel like you have given a lot, how can God really expect you to give anymore? In a way, this is a type of denial as well. It is a coping mechanism to mask the fears. 

Maybe when you have stepped out readily, things have gone badly. You have been hurt in some way or expectations were not fulfilled. Sometimes stepping out wasn’t even bad or challenging. Everything about it seemed good, but a part of you still longed for something different. Part of you decided that the simple way was the best. Even if stepping outside of your comfort zone may be rough, the Bible says: 

“…in his justice and great righteousness, 

He does not oppress.” — Job 37:23b

If the Bible tells us that God does not oppress us, we should have great peace. If we are going to step out again, we can step out in the confidence that we will be protected again. Sometimes God calls us back to a place or to step out in to the unknown again because he has things for us to learn and does not want us to miss them. 

God asks us to continue to follow him into the unknown even if it looks similar to a path we have failed on before. We get to choose if we will follow or if we will look for a new door to escape though.

3. “What if this ends badly? It is too much risk.” 

This a big part of the song. As humans we look for what is at risk. That is a good thing because if we didn’t we would hurt ourselves and other people a lot. We can try to keep things in order just the way they are, because let’s admit it we all like to be in control. The Bible tells us to choose for yourselves who we will serve (see Joshua 23:15), and choosing to follow God means that we fall under his control. 

One of my favorite quotes in context to the fear of things going badly, is from Do Hard Things. It says: 

“Anything worth doing is worth failing at and trying again.” — Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, page 79. 

Stepping into the unknown will seems scary. But when the Lord is calling us, he will sustain us. The Bible says: 

“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; 

your surround then with your favor as 

with a shield.” — Psalm 5:12

When we step out in trust, set aside the fear, and give up control, we grow in Christ’s likeness. God’s favor will surround us, and even if things go wonky, he will still be our shield. 

With that we come to the end of the second blog post of stepping out into the unknown. We have looked at six excuses Elsa has laid out in her song and debunked them with truth. 

If you have been hiding behind one of these excuses, pray about it and start the process of listening and stepping out. You serve a good God, who is calling you into the unknown because he has good plans for your life and his kingdom.