Seek the High Privilege of Having Your Heart Broken; Live Intentionally

2 Timothy 4:5; 2 Corinthians 12:7(b)-10

Uncomfortable situations can bring great growth and maturity to our lives - if we aren't afraid to put ourselves in them.

Soul Food

2 Timothy 4:5

“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

2 Corinthians 12:7(b)-10

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Soul Search

• When do you remember being very clearly out of your comfort zone?
  Can you describe what happened and how you arrived in your ‘discomfort’ zone?

• When you were out of your comfort zone was it because you purposefully and intentionally stepped out of it or did you leave your comfort zone by accident or because of unforeseen circumstances?

• Can you remember occasions when you had a clear invitation to step out of your comfort zone but you refused to?
  Do you have any regrets about not stepping out of your comfort zone?

• Ask yourself honestly what it would take for you to get past your own comfort in order to step into someone else’s discomfort.

Soul Moves

Personal growth happens through change.
If you have the courage, ask God to bring you opportunities to step out of your comfort zone.

When doors of discomfort open to you (your doors of discomfort may be completely different from someone else’s) ask God whether or not He wants you to go through them.
If you believe He does (you’ll know), also believe that He will give you the courage and strength to walk through them.

"Typically, we all try to avoid ‘discomfort zones.’ We generally live where we are most comfortable.
‘Comfortable’ feels safe, predictable, known, and….limiting.
Discomfort feels unsafe, unpredictable, unknown, and……limitless.
Ask God to expand the boundaries of your personal growth.

Opportunities for growth is limited when we consistently choose to live where it’s comfortable.
Opportunities for growth in multiple ways is unlimited when we make choices to live where it’s uncomfortable.

Ask God to grow and mature you in discomfort zones and by so doing ready you for adventures in life you never dreamed you’d be capable of."