A Reflection on How God Uses Wilderness Experiences to Expand our Comfort Zones in Preparation for Mission
Familiarity leads to complacency. God pushed Abraham out of his comfort zone and led him through wilderness experiences to make him more committed to mission:
The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:1-3)
The same is true of the church today. God pushes us out of our comfort zones–he puts us in unfamiliar territory for a purpose: to bend our hearts more toward loving and pursuing those who are lost. Wilderness experiences can be one of the ways God prepares us for mission… the unfamiliar of the wilderness prepares us for the lack of familiarities as we cross cultures for the sake of the Gospel.
by Ashley Denton
