Slide into the Comfort Zone

The other morning I awoke with a peculiar sentence bouncing through my mind:

“Comfort zone – it’s more than pizza and mac & cheese.”

I’d been told over and over to stretch out of my comfort zone, go beyond my comfort zone, don’t hang out in my comfort zone, but I felt the Lord gently nudging me to think differently about the comfort zone.

I started thinking about prophecy, where, in 1 Corinthians 14:3, it says that prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort. I recently heard John Paul Jackson say that these three parts of prophecy are speaking to three different parts of our being: edification speaks to the spirit of a person, exhortation to the body and comfort to the soul.

Our souls are made up of mind, will and emotion (I usually throw creativity in there, but let’s just have three for beautiful mathematics today). So here’s some comfort for our mind, will and emotions:

Psalm 71:21 You [the Lord] will increase my honor and comfort me once more.

Psalm 119:76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Isaiah 49:13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you.”

Zechariah 1:13 And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing.

Okay, so here’s a few remarkable things that I’ve discovered in my study of “comfort”:

That’s what the name Noah means! Go ahead and follow that bunny trail
Yes, God comforts us, but we’re supposed to comfort each other, too.
The return of the Lord is a comforting thought, even if there are times of extreme trouble beforehand.
Comfort isn’t a bad thing, but something beautiful and biblical.

So slide into the comfort zone. Ask God your questions and allow Him to comfort you. Tell Him your sorrows and allow Him to comfort you. Express to Him the desires of your heart and allow Him to comfort you. Allow yourself to be comforted by a friend. Then go spread that comfort!

Today, The Elite of the Weak is FREE! Grab a copy, have a read, I hope it inspires you!

YA Supernatural Thriller

2 Corinthians 1: 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.