Out of the Zone

OUT OF THE ZONE

"All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus, the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before we know it, he brings us alongside of someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us." -- 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (The Message)

I have come to the conclusion that God does have an amazing sense of humor. One of the things that I have noticed is that He loves to take His kids out of their comfort zones so that He can display His power and glory. God's Word is filled with illustrations of this truth.

This week I received a call from a partner asking if I would take a dear friend to the local hospital. This dear friend, at age 93, had been caring for her friend (age 89), and the 89 year old had fallen in the bathroom and was being transported to the hospital by ambulance.

When I arrived at the house, the 93 year old saint was really emotionally distraught over her friend needing to go the hospital. We prayed and made our way to the hospital. I took her into the ER, and told her to call me when she had an update. By the time I made it back to America's KESWICK the call came in that the 89 year old friend had gone home to be with Jesus in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

I spoke with my 93 year old friend and told her I would meet her at the same place where I dropped her off. I parked the car and realized she wasn't there. I went into the waiting room and there was a huge line waiting to be helped, so I went to the security guard to see if he could tell me where this dear lady was waiting.

He immediately knew who I was talking about and said, "Follow me!" What I wasn't prepared for was where he was taking me -- the morgue! This dear woman was there saying goodbye to her life-long friend.

Standing there I began to chuckle! Most of my family and friends know that I first of all don't do hospitals, and second of all, I don't do dead people. My first reaction was, "No, Lord, I can't do this," but then I was amazed at the sense of His presence and peace in having to step out of my comfort zone in order to comfort this dear lady.

We often go through experiences of life that shake us to the core only to discover that at some point, God uses those painful experiences in our lives so that we can come along others who are going through similar circumstances.

Years ago, Jan and I went through a very painful experience when our small Christian bookstore business went bankrupt. It was a horrible experience for us and our kids. But I am amazed at how often we have sat with people who were facing a similar experiencing, and have had them say, "Well, you will never understand this ... " Then we share how God worked in our lives during those dark days, and we can comfort others with the comfort He provided for us.

Is God asking YOU to step out of YOUR comfort zone to come alongside of someone else? Don't resist it! You will be amazed at the blessing of getting out of the zone to comfort someone else with the same comfort that HE has provided for you. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 5; Numbers 32-34; Mark 9:30-50

Dig This Quote: No revolution that has taken place in society can be compared to that which has been produced by the words of Jesus Christ.Mark Hopkins

Determined Digging: Level 1 -- Psalm 30:5; Level 2 -- Psalm 37:23-26