This summer I was a host for a local Bible Bee group (learn more about the National Bible Bee here).  The theme of this summer’s study was Worship, and I learned a lot about worshipping outside my comfort zone. 

Over the last two years as a competitor in Bible Bee, God began to grow in my heart a passion for knowing His Word.  He opened my eyes to see how much our generation is lacking in Biblical knowledge and how knowing God’s Word is what enables us to stand firm as believers.  It’s hard to stand firm if you don’t know why you believe what you believe. 

As God grew this passion within me to see a generation rise up that is hungry for the Word, I realized that once I aged out of Bible Bee, there wouldn’t be a host in our local area – someone to organize encouragement meetings for the participants throughout the summer to help them review what they’d studied each week and encourage them to keep pressing on.  So, I started praying about being a host for the 2019 Summer Study, and God opened the doors for me to do so. 

From the first meeting of the summer to the very last, I was extremely nervous.  Being a host was way outside my comfort zone.  I loved getting to know the participants and seeing how much they’d learned week after week, but talking in front of people, organizing an event and making decisions was not my forte.  Each week I would get super nervous and stressed about talking in front of people, and then when the meeting began, I would stare down at my notes awkwardly as my heart raced.  I felt so inadequate to host; everything about the role of a host was a new challenge for me. 

To be honest, I spent a lot of time asking God why He called me to be a host when it was so far outside my comfort zone.  Actually, this summer God placed me in a lot of leadership positions that I didn’t expect.  Being a leader doesn’t come naturally to me; I’m far more comfortable being told what to do than telling others what to do.  So, I kept asking God, “Why me?  I’m not good at this.  I’m so awkward.   There are so many other people You could have called to do this that would be so much better at it than me.  Why me?”  This is embarrassing to admit, but I was still asking “why me” up until Proclaim Day when all the kids would get up to proclaim God’s Word and receive their medals. 

Everything seemed to be going wrong on Proclaim Day.  Our cake fell apart, we started late, and I felt so awkward.  But once we got started and the kids started reciting, God gave me peace.  Hearing each participant recite God’s Word boldly reminded me why I was hosting – because knowing God’s Word is lifechanging, and what these kids have learned this summer is going to stick with them.  Proclaim Day was a blessing, and even though I felt inadequate, God is not inadequate, and His power is made perfect in weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). 

So what does this have to do with worship?  Well, after Proclaim Day I was still struggling with wondering why God had chosen to use me in leadership positions when that is not my gifting.  I listened to a sermon that same week that talked about God calling us to live in the “Awkward Zone,” and suddenly it clicked.  How can I grow in my comfort zone? I need to worship outside my comfort zone because that is where God can use me.

Our study’s theme was worship, and one verse that stuck out to me was 1 Corinthians 10:31:

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

God was teaching me that worship is so much more than praising God in song.  Worship is a lifestyle; it’s seeking God’s glory in every area of my life.  It’s easy to worship God when everything is going exactly the way I want it, or when my emotions are bubbly, but to worship is not about circumstances or emotions. 

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  John 4:23-24

True worship is consistent and based upon truth, not emotions.  It is a choice to put God first and seek His glory above everything else in my life, including my comfort zone.  That means that if God is calling me outside my comfort zone, then I need to worship outside my comfort zone.  And honestly, God will probably keep calling me outside my comfort zone for the rest of my life.  I have two choices: I can be upset that God keeps calling me outside my comfort zone and obey Him grudgingly, or I can rejoice that God is willing to use someone so imperfect to accomplish His good plans and worship Him in it.  My prayer is that God will continue to use me outside my comfort zone.  Yes, I know it will be hard and awkward, but it is only outside my comfort zone that I can grow.  When I’m uncomfortable, it reminds me that I need God’s help, and it teaches me to lean on Him instead of my own strength. 

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

How about you?  Are you willing to worship outside your comfort zone? 

With love,

Kelsey