Author André Gide said, “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” You will have to sacrifice your sense of comfort in order to fulfill your purpose. Whenever we are courageous enough to step outside of our comfort zone into the unknown, we have the potential to discover new areas of opportunity. 

My wife and I had to make our purpose greater than our comfort years ago when we took a position out-of-state that resulted in a pay-decrease. We felt that, in order to fulfill what God had put in our hearts, the purpose was greater than the money. We knew that in order to experience God’s provision and allow Him to use us, we were going to have to make this sacrifice. Even though our finances decreased, our purpose and growth increased! What we experienced in that season of our life was worth more than any amount of money we could have earned. Our financial comfort paled in comparison to the spiritual impact we were called to make. That test of sacrifice strengthened our faith.

Our comfort zones are bordered by familiarity. To step into the faith zone, we have to get uncomfortable and enter unfamiliar territory. Sure, it would be a relief to know everything in life before it happened, but it would also make life pretty boring and predictable. Get excited for something new…and better! My 17-year-old nephew was thinking about who he would ask to the prom when a pretty girl approached him at school and said, “Hey, if you were to ask me to prom, I wouldn’t say no.”

The rest is history.

Life would be so much easier if we could know the outcome before we had to step out and take a risk. Even though 20/20 foresight would be infinitely better than 20/20 hindsight, we do not have to live under the control of fear. Envision a life without fear of the unknown. Imagine being free to trust that whatever you are called to do, you know you’ll have the God-given ability to achieve it. This is the faith it takes to live without limits. Let your faith become greater than your fears. God will never call you to something you can’t accomplish. We have one life to live, so live it to the fullest. Step out beyond your greatest fears and into a great faith adventure! Allow God to stretch you like a rubber band. The further you pull a rubber band back on your finger, the further it will fly when you let it go. We need to be stretched so that we can soar high into our destiny. 

Hebrews 13:16 (NIV)

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.