Are You Up For A Challenge?by Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger 29 Jun 2008 05:32 PM In a recent newsletter I subscribe to it asked 'When was the last time you challenged yourself as a writer? What challenge did you make?' Let me turn that around and ask when was the last time you challenged yourself as a Christian? Challenged yourself to take on a job or ministry that takes you out of your comfort zone? I love writing. Writing bible study questions and notes was no exception. Leading a discussion group was also something I felt comfortable doing. But when asked to become the teaching leader, standing up each week to give a 40 minute lecture on the bible passage, the idea terrified me. Public speaking has this effect on a lot of people. According to Wikipedia public speaking or glossophobia is feared more than death. However I prayed about it and God revealed that He wanted me to do this. It didn�t come easy. It was a challenge made harder by lots of health issues and bizarre accidents that occurred during that time. Each time hassles came, I went back to God, checking whether this was what He really wanted me doing. It was. However it appeared Satan didn�t want going ahead with the studies and was doing his best to unsettle me. Once I established where the interference was coming from I was able to continue. But I still needed to cover each lecture with lots of prayer and God�s enabling to deliver each lecture over a period of a couple of years. It�s too easy in the Christian life to get comfortable where we are and not extend or challenge ourselves to step out of our comfort zone to take on some ministry because it is something we haven�t attempted before. If the disciples had done that they would have stayed with their fishing or tax collecting instead of following Jesus into the ministry of preaching the good news and changing lives. Challenges help keep us focused and on track. Will you take up the challenge in your Christian life and step out of your comfort zone this week? Please visit these related blogs How to determine God's will in a specific situation what to do when a friend is in danger Are you prepared for the cost in following Jesus? Making decisions with God's guidance Learn more about Dale Harcombe  Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults. Relevantchristian tags User Comments PDeverit (283) 30 Jun 2008 12:56 AMI have issues with just staying in my comfort zone, most of the time it just has to do with fear, so its good to be "awakened" out of that every now and then.  Dale Harcombe (10373) 30 Jun 2008 02:40 PMI Think we all need that wake up call at times. Staying in the comfor zone is easier but we don't learn as much or benefit if we do as I'll deal with in the next blog.Thanks for your comments. Community Tags challenges, comfort zone, Decisions, fear, public speaking Discuss this article
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