Killing your Comfort Zone: How God Answers Prayers for the Intangible
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Easy prayers come with easy answers. It’s either yes or no. Now or later. It does or it doesn't happen. But lately we’ve been praying about the intangible things. You know, things that aren’t physical in nature, and tend to focus on our internal being. It can be hard to pray prayers like:
“Lord, change me. Make me new.”
“Help me to be who you want me to be.”
When praying for those tender, internal changes of the heart and mind, there is a tendency to come to God with a sense of exasperation. “Make me new” turns into:
“Why doesn’t it feel like anything in my life has changed?”
“Why aren’t I the new creature you promised I would be?”
Sometimes, God will hit a divine switch. He’ll heal our heart, change our mind, and make an old thing new in an instant. He has, can, and will do miracles. Not just tangible, but intangible ones too. While all of this is true, it’s not the usual way He works. When moving an internal mountain in your life God will often - for your own good - make you get down and push.
“Being both sovereign and committed to our freedom, God lets us participate in His plan for our lives. Whenever we have a shared desire with God, He will allow us to serve him in achieving it. ”
Imagine being tired and asking God for a chair, and instead of a comfy loveseat he sends wood and a toolbox. After praying those exasperated prayers, we’re always presented with opportunities for discomfort, which never feels like the answer we’re looking for. Discomfort often feels like God is piling on the pressure, maybe even making your situation worse.
Being both sovereign and committed to our freedom, God lets us participate in His plan for our lives. Whenever we have a shared desire with God, He will allow us to serve him in achieving it. So while He's promised that we are new creatures in Christ, that the Holy Spirit lives in us and is able to work through us, living out a changed life doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that takes place as we walk with Him in surrender.
Let’s take a look at our greatest example. Jesus’s death on the cross was not passive. He made the choice to surrender his life for ours. When we ask God for a new internal life, he gives us the opportunity to lay the old one to rest. His end of the deal is providing divine opportunities. Our end of the deal is to seize them. We have to choose to be the person we’re praying to become, even when the choice feels like death.
So whenever it seems easier to be exactly who you’ve always been, get out of your comfort zone and live! Resist the temptation to think the old thoughts, retreat into the old habit, or let the old feeling rule your heart. When sacred opportunities for discomfort arise, be the new person He’s created you to be.