Most of us have an area that might be called our "spiritual comfort zone," which is the area where we feel most comfortable trusting God. When God calls us to go beyond our spiritual comfort zone, we begin to feel nervous or uncomfortable. We would prefer not to go outside the zone until we feel better about it.
For example, we might be comfortable talking about God with church friends, but nervous about explaining our faith to someone who does not believe. We might be comfortable in our current job, but anxious about the possibility that God wants to do some vocational realignment. We might feel enough faith to pray for people we are in relationship with, but actually confronting someone who has been behaving badly toward us would make us cringe. We might discuss past problems smoothly enough, but the idea of honestly naming our current struggles to a trusted friend would send us running.
There is only one way to increase your spiritual comfort zone, and acquiring more information alone will not do it. You will have to follow the Path of God, which requires taking a leap of faith.
You need to get out of the boat a little every day. Begin the day by asking God for wisdom about where you need to get your feet wet that day.
Call someone whom you have been avoiding out of fear. Express your faith to a person who does not know about your beliefs. Make a gesture of friendship toward someone when you are tempted to hold back. Risk speaking the truth to a spouse, parent, or friend when your normal course would be to hesitate.
It does not matter whether all these steps turn out the way you hoped. Of course, things will end in failure sometimes, but you are giving your faith a chance to grow.
You have to get out of the boat a little every day. As you do, your faith will deepen and your spiritual comfort zone will widen.
Where is God calling you to walk on the water?
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