So, for those of you that know me, you may be aware that I don't often leave my comfort zone. I have a tendency to stay close to the things I know and the activities I have experienced before. I'm an introvert. I get awkward and uncomfortable sometimes. The honest truth though, is that I am afraid. Afraid of failure, afraid of the unknown, afraid of life, and afraid of judgement. It is for these reasons that I often restrain my curiosity and adventuresome side and instead live life taking as few risks as possible. Recently however, I have begun to feel very convicted of this.
In my opinion the passage of scripture, 1 Corinthians 1:7-9, is perfect proof that God intends for life, both spiritually and physically to be adventuresome. Trust me though, as I've already explained, this has not always been my perspective on life and in fact, it is something I still struggle with. This topic and idea began to resonate in my mind late last year and has only continued to grow since then.
If I recall correctly, my first real introduction to the idea of life as a spiritual adventure was during a Wednesday night Bible study at church. Initially when my college pastor starting talking about living life as an adventure with God, I was like, "What? No! That's just not for me! I am not an adventuresome person, at all! You don't know what you're taking about! There's no way you're talking to me!" Even though I thought these things in defiance, I was right, in a way. It wasn't my Pastor talking to me. It was God. God was speaking to my heart and kindling a passion in me for adventure, adventure with him.
When discussing adventure though, it is very important to know exactly what that word means, so I looked it up. The definitions I found were: "an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks" or "an exciting or remarkable experience". Now when looking at these two definitions and taking them for face value both of them sound a little crazy and overwhelming. (At least they do to me...)
However, when considering them further, they actually do in fact fit into the context of a Christian walk. See, life with Christ often calls us to take "unknown" risks, to blindly follow God's calling, forcing us to trust completely on him. A spiritual walk is also often "an exciting and remarkable experience" that grows and strengthens us along the way.
It is very important though to note, that God not only calls us to live life, spiritually, as an adventure with him, but also physically. He does not want us to cower in fear, running away from adventuresome activities. Instead he encourages us to take a leap of faith and step outside of our comfort zone with him at our side.
Back in December, my family and I set off on a 65 mile - 4 day backpacking trip in North East Texas. Although I was very excited about this adventure and thrilled to spend so much quality time with my family, I was also slightly terrified. See, I've spent a lot of time in the outdoors: camping, hiking, jogging...the list goes on and on. But, this was different, there were, what my Dad calls, "known unknowns". There were parts of the trip that were flexible, non-concrete, and in my mind "unplanned". We didn't know exactly where we would camp every night or where we would eat lunch or use the restroom. It was scary to think that we would head out and not have every single detail planned. This just goes to show though, and is only one example of my desire to organize and be in control. This is only one reason why I fear adventure so much. It is very spontaneous, flexible, and a little scary because it forces me to relinquish my control. In the end though, I completed the hike with my family and had an amazing time. Yes, there were challenges and it was certainly an adventure but I'm glad I went. I'm glad I left my comfort zone behind.
So, I challenge you, to think about this. I challenge you join me, this year, and take a leap of faith - to follow God's calling for adventure in your life, both spiritually and physically. I know your adventures may look very different for mine. We are at different stages and that's okay. I invite you though to do something daring with God at your side. I challenge you to pop the bubble of your comfort zone and leave it behind for good because "[...] God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that."
