Zone of the Unknown

I've been reading a great book called Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybles. The concept is very simple - Jesus wants us to care about people the way he did - and if we're going to do that we need to be willing to go outside our comfort zone into the "Zone of the Unknown".

This whole thing with Joshua (see my last post) - in addition to reading this book - has me feeling very challenged in entering the "Zone of the Unknown".

I think we've all had it were we feel something in our 'gut' - sometimes quite literally - that leads us to say something to someone, confront an issue, help a stranger, give someone a smile or encouraging word or call someone we haven't talked to in ages. If you're like me, sometimes you listen to this still small voice, sometimes you ignore it and move on.

My goal is to keep my spiritual ears open to the propting of the Holy Spirit. I'm going to jump right in to the "Zone of the Unknown" and ask the Lord what he would have me do, or say, or NOT say for him each day. So often, my days are focused on what I want to do, or what I want to accomplish. My goal is now to focus on what Christ can do through me - on making myself available for his purposes - not just my own.

I hope my ears will be open to the Spirit's prompting. Sometimes it's so quiet, it hardly registers as a whisper, and I find myself thinking, "Is this just me, or is this from God?" It's hard to discern sometimes, isn't it?

Then there are times - like this whole Joshua deal - that I feel like it couldn't have been any clearer than if God spray painted the message on my garage door! I found out that Joshua only has one 30 minute visit per week. The chances of me actually getting in to see him is pretty low. I mean, honestly, will he choose to talk to his old 4th grade teacher over his family or friends? That said, however, I still feel a very strong promting from the Holy Spirit to move ahead with trying! If God wants me to go, he'll open the doors, right? So for now, I'm going to start with writing Joshua a letter. Please pray with me that this will open the door for one to one contact with him in the future!

How about you? Is there someone you need to call? or have coffee with? Is there a neighbor or co-worker that you can make these first steps with? Is the Holy Spirit prompting you? Enter the "Zone of the Unknown" with me! It's going to be a wild ride!