“Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure-pressed down, shaken together, and running over-it will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 CSB
Years ago, I was listening to a message by Mark Batterson while I was traveling. He was talking about giving. He shared that one of his favorite things to do is tip someone who doesn’t expect it. A janitor, a sales clerk, someone who works in the service industry who doesn’t usually receive tips. His message inspired me that day. I was traveling on I-95 when I was listening to it, when I stopped for a potty break, there was a cleaning woman in the restroom. I had a $10 bill in my pocket, and I tipped her with it as I was leaving. The look of shock on her face was priceless. Believe it or not, it was incredibly hard for me to do. I felt awkward, I wasn’t sure HOW to do it. I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, and yet I had just listened to this message about doing this very thing and felt it was a divine appointment. I gathered my 20 seconds of courage, handed her the bill, thanked her for her service and was on my way.
Getting out of our comfort zone isn’t easy. If it was, we would live in the world outside of our comfort. There’s no stress when we’re in our comfort zone, we know what to expect, we don’t need to do much, it’s easy. Outside of our comfort zone is the unknown, even when doing good deeds. I didn’t know what the cleaning woman was going to do when I handed her the money. I had never done anything like that before, yet I was trying to be obedient. Often when God calls us to do something, it’s outside of our comfort zone. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t grow, we wouldn’t be taking steps of faith. I have no idea how me tipping that lady impacted her day, or her life. I probably never will until I get to heaven, but I trust that God knows. I trust that it was in His plan for me to take that step of faith. I trust that He knows exactly why He maneuvered things to happen that way that day. For all I know, she may not have food to eat and it provided a meal, or maybe she had lost hope and a stranger’s kindness gave some back to her again. God only knows why, I just had to do.
When we challenge ourselves to get out of our comfort zone, no matter what it is, it helps us to be all we can be. It allows God to grow us in ways we otherwise wouldn’t grow. We can spur on our creativity as we think of ways to move outside of the known into the unknown. Taking steps of faith, no matter how small, always takes us into the unknown, if they didn’t, it wouldn’t be faith. As you move through your day today, look for ways to get outside of the normal routine. Find someone to tip who doesn’t normally get tipped, then take 20 seconds of courage and just do it!
