One of the phrases I often say in church is that God is calling us out of our comfort zone. And while there is truth in that, I’m not sure “comfortable” is always the right word. Through prayer and conversation, I’ve started to realize that what we cling to isn’t always comfort—it’s familiarity. Familiarity feels safe, even when it’s unhealthy. It’s predictable, even when it’s painful. We hold on to what we know because stepping into the unknown feels risky, uncertain, and overwhelming.
This is why the words of God to Abraham in Genesis 12:1 are so powerful: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Notice what God doesn’t do—He doesn’t give Abraham a map. He doesn’t outline every step or explain how it will all work out. God simply calls Abraham to leave what is familiar and trust Him with what is unknown. Faith begins where familiarity ends.
I’ve seen this truth lived out in real life. I’m friends with a man who has been in and out of homelessness for years—not because it’s comfortable, but because it’s what he knows. The idea of structure, expectations, and change feels more frightening than living on the streets. And if we’re honest, we’re not that different. We may not be living on the streets, but we often cling to habits, relationships, routines, or mindsets that God is inviting us to leave behind. We don’t cling to these things because they’re what’s best for us—but because they’re familiar.
Scripture reminds us that this struggle is universal. In Exodus, the Israelites had been set free from slavery, yet when the wilderness became hard, they longed to return to Egypt. Egypt was bondage, but it was familiar. Freedom required trust. The wilderness demanded faith. And that tension still exists today. God often calls us forward, but familiarity keeps pulling us backward.
The writer of Hebrews captures this calling beautifully in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith doesn’t mean we have all the answers—it means we trust the One who does. Stepping out in faith is not about believing in our own ability, but believing in God’s faithfulness. And this is where many of us unknowingly limit God—not in what He is capable of doing, but in what we believe He can do in and through us.
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 3:20 that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” God’s power is already at work, but He most often requires our willingness to move: to leave the familiar; to say yes before we feel ready; to trust that obedience will lead us where comfort never could.
So the question for us today is simple, but challenging: What familiar thing might God be asking us to step out of? What steps of faith have we been delaying because it feels uncertain or unfamiliar? The unknown can be scary but it is often the very place where God does His deepest work. When we loosen our grip on what we know and place our trust fully in Him, we discover that God has been faithful all along and that His plans for us are far greater than anything we could have settled for on our own.
thesimplemindedpastor.com 