Tag: comfort zone

Purpose in the Pain

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

PAIN HEADER.020

I’ve talked about before how tough it was for me living in Germany. Initially, the hard part was being so far away.  I had gotten comfortable where I was living, my family was not very far away and overall I was happy with life. That is of course until the news came that we were moving to Germany. At the time, I was mature enough to understand that it wasn’t my husband’s work sending us to Germany it was God. But I must be honest and say I still did not understand or like the fact that these changes were coming. I felt like my whole world was being flipped upside down and that was very hard for me to accept. When I finally got myself together and began to embrace my life in a new country, sure enough the enemy came and attacked again in a few different ways and tried to get me back to that same place I had been in when I first got there. But just as sure as he attacked, I prayed and prayed. I cried, hollered and screamed. I pleaded with God to please help me understand. I prayed for God to get me up out of that place and finally He did.

I said all that to say this, my time in Germany was tough, but I made it. I got through what feels like was the hardest 3 years of my life. Looking back, I can now say without a shadow of a doubt that there was purpose in my pain. No matter how bad I hurt and how much I did not understand at the time, I know there was a reason why I had to go through what I went through. I grew so much spiritually and God got me to a place of total dependence on Him.

Purpose

This is how I was able to find the purpose in my pain. I began to realize why I was created. I realized that my purpose in life was so much greater than anything I had ever imagined. This is also why the devil attacked me like he did. The purpose in my pain was to push me. My pain pushed me in my quest for God. My pain pushed me to think big. My pain pushed me to not just think outside the box, but actually live outside of the box. My pain pushed me to not just walk by faith but to make faith my lifestyle. My pain pushed me to be greater and bolder when telling people about God. My pain pushed me to walk in love no matter what. My pain pushed me to start my own blog and publish my first book. My pain pushed me to be the best me that I could possibly be. My pain pushed me to take off every limitation in my life. And now, one of my goals in life is to help others do the same. I want you to understand that there is so much greatness on the inside of you. If you stay comfortable and never try anything new, you will never grow and you’ll never be able to walk in that greatness. You have to get uncomfortable. It may hurt, matter fact it is going to hurt but rest assured that God is going to see you through. At the end of the day, it all boils down to this…the more uncomfortable you are, the more you have to depend on God. That’s the way it was intended to be in the first place. “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deut 31:6 ESV)

~letstalkaboutlife365.com~

Thought Check:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

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Let's Talk Life: A New Perspective

Surprise…It’s Me!

Author, Nicole L. Ross1 Comment

It’s been suggested by quite a few different people that in addition to me writing, I begin to record myself and speak to the people.  I kinda laughed off these suggestions because I’ve always been much more comfortable writing, but I also understand the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone.  So, here you have it!  You get a chance to see the face behind all the writing.  I can’t continue to push you and encourage you to do something I’m not willing to do myself.  Let me know what you think!!!

~letstalkaboutlife365.com~

Philippians 4:13 KJV “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

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Let's Talk Life: A New Perspective

Separation from the Norm

Author, Nicole L. Ross1 Comment

change

As I’ve gotten older and experienced many aspects of life, I have come to realize that change is inevitable.  A lot of times we are reluctant to change but what God has shown me is that as we grow and mature on a daily basis there may be times when He has to pull us away from our regular routine in order to take us to a new dimension in Him.  I like to think of it like this, He has to separate us in order to elevate us.  I remember a few years after I graduated from college, I got a new job and I was extremely excited about it.  I was going to become a flight attendant.  I’d be doing something I never even thought about doing, heck I had only been on an airplane once before even getting the job.  But, deep down inside I knew this was the change I needed.  What I didn’t realize nonetheless was that I would have to leave everything I knew to take this job.  I had to leave Florida, where all of my friends and family were located, and go up to Atlanta.  Now, technically for the job it was not required that I move, but for God it was a requirement.  This was what He told me I had to do, so I did it.  When I first moved to Georgia, I felt so alone and out of place, even though I loved my new job.  What I had to realize was that God was separating me from my comfort zone.  I had gotten so comfortable with the things, places and people around me He was pulling me to a place where it would be just Him and I.  A place where He could change and rearrange some things in my life that could have never happened had I stayed where I was.

When you are stretched out of your comfort zone or separated from the norm it can be a very testing, challenging and grueling experience and for me it was all of the aforementioned plus some.  But why is that?  If we know that change is inevitable, why are we so reluctant?  Why does it feel as though it is such a difficult journey?  I know personally, the reason it was so tough is because I did not understand what was going on or why.  We all desire understanding, especially in the midst of undesirable situations but there will be times when we just don’t get it.  The understanding comes after it is over and sometimes it never comes at all.  That is like the clay trying to understand the potter while it’s being molded into a vase or something, it just won’t happen.

Separation brings elevation.  Try not to focus on the situation while you are going through, focus on what the outcome will be once it is over.  As the saying goes, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  You just gotta make your way through that tunnel full speed ahead with your eyes wide open so you can see the end.  If you don’t understand anything else, know that there is purpose behind any shift, change or alteration that comes your way.  God is calling you higher, how will you respond?  #iDeclare #separationfromthenorm

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Prayer:

Father God in the name of Jesus, I come humbly before your throne of grace.  I come to give you thanks just for being who you are.  Thank you God for the shift and the changes that are taking place in my life.  In times when I don’t understand why, please help me to stay focused and increase my faith and trust in you.  I decree and declare that there is purpose behind every shift, change and alteration taking place in my life and instead of running from it, I will embrace it.  Thank you Jesus for being such an awesome God.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Scripture Readings:

Ephesians 2:10 ESV “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Romans 12:2 NLT “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”