I am not a writer. Proceed cautiously.
Faith and adventure are two important things in my life. Faith more so, if you were wondering, but adventure is also high on the importance list. They easily and luckily connect. Let’s see.
Humans love to be comfortable. We love to be cozy and safe. As Christians we know we have a God who loves us unconditionally and who will comfort us when we are dealing with hard times. We’ve been there and He loves us; He is a God of comfort, rest and peace. Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” There are so many more verses pertaining to that. So God is our comfort, right?
But there are also times in life when God pushes you out of your comfort zone and challenges you to do something you might’ve never done before. You might feel inadequate. You might not feel like you’re the right person for the job. You might feel like Moses, for example. Toooootally out of his comfort zone; he literally told God “Please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:13) But God reassured Moses, Moses trusted and obeyed God, and God lead Moses safely through the challenge. (read the whole story because that was WAY paraphrased). God comforts us in times of sadness or need, but also sends us into situations where we may feel UNcomfortable, in order for us to do His good works, learn to trust Him more, and grow in our faith.
Now onto the adventure side of things. We like to be comfortable, but being uncomfortable is a key factor in living an exciting and adventurous life. I, like most people, typically equate being adventurous with trekking through the deep woods, doing extreme sports or camping out at the top of a mountain. But really, adventure just means going outside of your comfort zone. Running an unknown route and figuring out your way home is an adventure. Trying a new cuisine, experiencing a new culture, that’s adventure. And linking it back to faith: walking into a new Bible study full of strangers, opening up, and feeling like friends when you are done. Crazy, right?
I listened to a podcast featuring Jon Levy recently and he said “The most exciting experiences of our life don’t just happen by chance.” Sure, something exciting might happen randomly, like finding a $10 bill on the ground, but really, the best and most exciting things happen when we choose to make them happen. When we choose to do something we’ve never done before. Jon said that being adventurous is not just about the stories you get to tell (those are great), but about the people you meet and the person you get to become during and after the process is over. Adventure grows us. It’s the same with faith. When God calls us to step out into faith and do something we’ve never done before, and we obey his calling, we are absolutely going to grow in our faith, And usually, in our relationships with people and God, too.
I don’t know if that summed my point up at all, but basically, listen to God, do stuff you are kind of a little bit scared of doing, and good things will happen. (Or maybe they won’t, but either way you’ll be a changed person after it happens.)
Thanks for reading. Hope it gives you something to think about <3
S
