Out of my comfort zone


1st Check point 

We are in March already. I don’t know how this year has been for you so far but mine has been crazy. For me, this is a year of doing things I have never done before, of getting out of my closet, of enjoying the many trees in the garden of life. 

I drew my theme for this year ‘out of my comfort zone’ from Genesis 3. Adam and Eve were put in a garden that was full of trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (Gen. 2: 9). They were to freely eat from any tree in the garden apart from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Interesting to note is that the forbidden tree was placed right in the middle of the garden. Satan must have come to tempt Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree when she was near it. Imagine if she was far away from the forbidden tree enjoying the fruits of the other trees in the garden. Do you think she would have eaten from the forbidden tree? 

After reading the story of the fall of man, I realized how for so many of us, we are living near the forbidden tree.  We are more concerned about the things God has denied us than what He has freely given. Take for instance, a single man or lady will lament how he/she is missing a lot because they do not have someone to share their life with. On the other side, for someone in a relationship their main concern is how far should they go before they fall into sexual sin? That is, if there are Christians. As we choose to live near the tree, we lose sight of the other trees in the garden. We forgot that we are allowed to do so much like mount climbing, spa, sauna, skating, visit the many national parks in our beautiful country, do some CSR like visiting a children’s home, the list is endless. 

One may argue that doing all that may be quite expensive.  Why can’t I just simply enjoy life by having sex before I am married? Or if single why can’t I just feel jealous about other people’s status or complain about my status?  Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which angle you choose to look at, this life is not our own. If God says do not eat of the forbidden tree, He means exactly that. Yes it might be at the middle of the garden so near to you but you have got to move far away from it. Eating it might seem like a little price you are paying now but it is a great price you are paying for the future that will guarantee your way out of the garden, denying you access to all the other trees in the garden. Is it really worth it? Notice that for you to enjoy the other trees in the garden (blessings of life) you have to obey God (not eat of the forbidden tree). There is no shortcut – blessings follow obedience. And other thing, we were not created to come and just eat fruits of the trees in the garden. We were created to have fellowship with God. Everything has to point towards God. 

So yes in light of all this, I decided that I will enjoy the many pleasing and good trees in life. The climax of my escapades was a trip to Mount Kilimambongo I recently made. I had jokingly told my friends that mount climbing (never done it before) was one of the ways in which I was getting out of my comfort zone and an opportunity presented itself. I was ecstatic. God made it easier for me. He organized it for me through a friend, provided people to go to the trip with, and gave me everything else I needed to make my dream a reality – money, health, time.  Isn’t our God amazing?

In conclusion, whichever stage of life you are in right now, do not focus your eyes so much on what God has not allowed you to do or what He has not given you. Choose to focus on that which He has freely given you or allowed you to do. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

START

This is to officially announce the arrival of my new bundle of joy, ‘a new creation.’ This is purely the work of   God. Without the encouragement and help of people around me, this blog would not have come to existence.  After spending time at His feet, I found a reason to smile. I found a reason to sing. I found a reason to talk. Now, I have found a reason to write. To Him be the glory. Indeed, He came so that we may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).  I know it would not be a smooth sailing all through. There will be critics but I have come to please Him. Sometimes pleasing Him would be like overturning what people are doing like the way Jesus did when he entered the temple… (Mat. 21:12-13). ‘A new creation’ will focus on what it really means to be a new creation now that we are under grace.  The writer is a fleeting shadow that does not endure, here today and gone tomorrow, but He still gives her so much attention. Before He formed...
Read more

The Power within You

  I had the privilege of leading the memorization and recital of verses in the discipleship program (Friends of Jesus) season 7 at my local church. The call was to lead the children in memorizing 29 verses with actions. If you think memorizing a chapter (1 John 3:1-24) and additional verses is hard, coming up with the actions to accompany the words is even harder. When the call hit my head, I felt the task was too great yet I was small literally 😄. I just needed to show up and with that half the battle was won. What was most encouraging was that I was not alone. The Holy Spirit, our helper, was right there with us. Through the collaborative effort of the children, the teachers and parents, we did it! 1.          Mistakes during rehearsals can perfect the presentation While we rehearsed, it was frustrating sometimes when we missed a word or forgot an action. But it was those mistakes that perfected the presentation. At times, we di...
Read more

The Garden of Eden

  I would like to thank and dedicate this post to my First Love (God) for giving me the opportunity to see Him as He really is through Genesis 3 and for using five lovely ladies – (Muso, Mukuna, Masereti, Mwix, Lisa) and many others as instruments to draw me nearer to Him. As ladies and gentlemen alike, there is always the temptation of talking about things that do not really build us up. We usually have this desire that when we part ways after meeting, we are updated with the latest fashion, who is dating who, the hottest movies/series, and the list goes on and on. While these things may not be bad in themselves, they are a dead end. We feel good talking about them but afterwards, well…nothing. And so when the idea came to one of the ladies that we should start a Bible study so that we can sharpen one another, it was irresistible. Unlike the other talks, this one is different. It is not an end in itself; it prepares God to bless His children as they seek out to find o...
Read more