God doesn't interrupt our lives for small things. God asks Noah to build an ark. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to stand up to the King when no one else would. Joseph was made a slave and imprisoned. Moses had to defy Pharaoh. These people did not lead comfortable lives, but God used them through their challenges. Hebrews 11 gives a whole list of people who were called by God. They didn't have to respond in the way they did, but they made that decision to trust God, and God used them through that.
In these stories of God calling these people, you never hear them asking for an even bigger challenge. Their first response is generally fear. Sometimes people like to say that God would never ask them to do something they can't handle easily. They will often quote 1 Cor. 1:13, where Paul says "[God] will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear". People are given more than they can handle everyday in our fallen world. Holocaust, death, martyrdom, cancer, war. People are given burdens they cannot handle.
When God challenges us, our 1st response is almost always fear. It is up to us how we respond to God's calling, and see how God will use the challenge to grow us and help reach others around us.
We need to be reassured that through any challenge we face, God has promised He will be there for us. In Joshua, God says "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." God doesn't promise bad things won't happen to us. The promise is that nothing can separate us from God's love. We may suffer. We may hurt. We will eventually die. God will never leave us though.
Back to Andy's words- Sorry for writing so much. I felt like Ortberg does a good job of dealing with a tough subject though. If you want to read the actual book sometime, I'll let you borrow it. And, now to lighten things up a bit, here is a photo of Janell and I in our Halloween costume.
