I work from home as a writer. Which suits me just fine since I am a confirmed introvert. I’m happier working on my own.

Like most introverts, being around people is both exhilarating and exhausting. I enjoy the companionship of my friends, but at the end of the day out, I relish going home and being alone.

The other day I was reading the assigned passage in the Lectio Divina Journal and was stopped short because I felt that God was calling me out of my comfort zone with these words:

5 I know how much you trust the Lord, just as your mother Eunice and your grandmother Lois do; and I feel sure you are still trusting him as much as ever.

6 This being so, I want to remind you to stir into flame the strength and boldness[a]that is in you, that entered into you when I laid my hands upon your head and blessed you. 7 For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.

8 If you will stir up this inner power, you will never be afraid to tell others about our Lord or to let them know that I am your friend even though I am here in jail for Christ’s sake. You will be ready to suffer with me for the Lord, for he will give you strength in suffering. (2 Timothy 1:5-8)

I love writing my weekly Fatih column for The Summit Daily News or blogging about my walk of faith.

But if you were to ask me to share my faith with someone in person, I would find it incredibly difficult and uncomfortable.

On the other hand, my mother seeks opportunities to share her faith with strangers every day. She’s an extrovert and thrives on meeting new people. But when she is called on to write down an experience of her faith journey she is overcome with self-doubt.

Yet that is what I believe God calls me and you and others to do each day.

God calls us to step out of our comfort zone, to do the thing that is difficult or uncomfortable. Not because God enjoys watching us struggle, but because he knows that we will grow stronger as individuals and in our faith when we try new things.

No, it doesn’t get easier for me to step into new territory, but I am more willing to risk embarrassment or failure because I know that it will help me to expand my horizons and grow.

Where is God calling you to step out of your comfort zone?God