In the Northern Territory of Australia, where I live, there are frequent boards like these, close to bodies of water. Common sense says, “Don’t go where there’s danger! Stay in the safe zone!” In this case, stay out of the water. If you are anything like me, you have an “adventurous” side. You love to go where you know there is danger. You want to push the boundaries and tempt fate. And you know what… I don’t think that’s a bad thing! I think it’s healthy to go on the path less travelled. I think it’s super important to step out of your comfort zone and to test yourself. But when you do decide to swim with the crocodiles, you need to be aware of the danger and face the consequences.
When you step out of your comfort zone, you step into unknown territory. It’s a place filled with risks, but also a place where you will find great rewards. It’s the only place that really gets the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing. It’s a place where there will be failure…no doubt! But it’s also a place where there will be successes. And they will only be experienced when we make some life changes. Like getting off that “comfortable couch of life” where I am absorbed in watching how other people are living their lives. Like spending less time on social media and rather becoming more social in “real life”. Like watching less episodes on TV and rather living out the exciting episodes of my life.
Maybe it’s crazy, but I got into the water where that sign was, and I swam to the waterfall on the far side. Only by facing the danger of the unknown in the pool, could I experience the reward of standing under the cold, fresh waterfall.
If you want to experience life and build a bridge that will make a difference to the lives of others, you net to “get into the water”. If you want to be used by God to be a history maker, you need to get out of the boat and get into the water. God doesn’t call us to stay in our comfortable little environment. He calls us into the “danger zone”. Into a place where it would be impossible to do things in our own strength and with our own courage. He calls us into the water teeming with “crocodiles” and the only way we would dare to step in, is because we know He is with us. We do it in His strength and in the courage that He gives us.