How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
By Drenda Keesee
Can you think of a time where you had to have courage, face a fear, or stand up to a difficult situation? How did you feel after you did it?
Most of us feel amazing after these experiences. But just before that moment, you made choices—to ignore the voices that wanted to hold you back and press forward into something that might have seemed uncomfortable but ended up being the right choice.
This is how God wants us to live. He challenges us to be uncomfortable, so we can do the impossible. God has more for you than just living in your comfort zone. You must get uncomfortable to live the life God has for you––to live life to the fullest!
Oftentimes, the hardest step we have to take is…
…the first one. We don’t do anything out of the ordinary or anything uncomfortable because we’re too afraid to take that first step. If we don’t say yes to opportunities, we limit our success… but when we have the courage to wade into the waters with God, our potential is limitless!
I want to encourage you today, take that first step! I also want to share with you a few ways you can truly step out of your comfort zone and live the life you were created for!
Take Authority Over Fear
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
–2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
God created you to live in a state of fearlessness! Fearlessness is the feeling you get where you feel like you can do anything and you’re brave. This is where you were created to live through God’s love.
What is fear keeping you from doing?
Fear is bondage. If fear is present in your life, it’s keeping you from being free. You were created to live in fearlessness, excitement, and freedom through God’s love––not a life bound by fear. God did not give you a spirit that shrinks when difficult situations come. He gave you a spirit that is mighty, self-controlled, and full of courageous love. If you struggle with fear, you need to switch your mindset from the world’s system to God’s system.
You don’t have to obey fear! You can speak to it and take authority over it. You can choose faith in God over fear and the world’s system. Break up with fear once and for all. And when it tries to come back, take authority over it. Run to God’s perfect love, because perfect love casts out ALL fear (1 John 4:18, NKJV). Look to God’s perfect love and His promises, because there is no fear there.
When we cast out our fear, we can step out and do things out of the ordinary. It’s time to be fearless!
Jump in the Water
I have done a lot of adventurous things in my life. Some of these include bungee jumping, skydiving, traveling Europe by train, and swimming with sharks. I won’t lie; all of these things took guts!
There is always something outside of your comfort zone. As soon as you conquer it, there will be something else right behind it. How can you be courageous enough to handle whatever comes your way? How can you be brave enough to swim with sharks?
I promise you, you can. If you want to swim with sharks, there is one simple step you need to take—jump in the water!
When I went swimming with six-foot sharks, it only looked scary from the boat. Once I jumped into the water, it was one of the most breathtaking experiences I’ve ever had. I was in awe! It was the same with bungee jumping and skydiving. After I jumped, I realized that was the hardest part. All the things I thought were scary weren’t. The hardest part is always just saying yes. When you understand that, jumping gets a lot easier!
Courage is doing something even when it looks scary because you know you aren’t doing it alone. All you have to do is jump—say yes, step out—and God will meet you there. Don’t worry about how you’re going to swim with the sharks or what comes next; just jump!
I’m so glad I got into the water, and I’m so glad I swam with those sharks. It was such an amazing experience!
God will take care of the sharks. You can trust Him to take care of you. If there’s one thing I’ve learned after a lifetime of facing fears, it’s that there’s no reward without some risk. The fruit of everything Gary and I have accomplished in our lives can be traced back to one moment of bravery where we decided to jump in the water. God has a great plan for your life; you just have to say YES.
Your dreams are on the other side of your fears! There are no shortcuts to your destiny, just one single choice: Am I going to jump in the water?
Jump in the water! Become all God has called you to be so that you can do the impossible.
Community, friendship, and accountability are huge keys to growth.
When we connect in community, we are put into an environment that encourages us to step out of our comfort zones and try new things. That’s why I created The Happy Life membership! Happy Life Groups will connect you with other like-minded women and help you discover your potential and the confidence that comes with it!
If you’re looking to take a step even further, then go ahead and sign up to lead a Happy Life Group! The best way to jump in the water is just that—to jump!
I can’t wait to embark on this incredible journey with you.
It’s time for us to be fearless enough to swim with the sharks!
~ Drenda
Listen in Now to Faith Life Church!
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.
