Today we were in the store and two birds flew over head. Anna said, "Birds you not suppose to be inside...go outside." Our three year old spoke great truth. Everything those birds need...food, water...is outside. Moreover, those birds were created to fly free...not be confined to the ceilings of an Odd Lots. However, these truths seemed to make no difference to the birds as they happily flew through the warm aisles of the store.
This week, I was confronted with my own desire to stay where it is warm even though God and I both know that what I really need is outside the safe walls I have created for myself. As I spent a couple of days allowing God to uncover unhealthy lies through the prayer ministry of inner healing, I faced the strong reality that a deep seated part of myself would rather live with lies that I have grown comfortable with however unhealthy, than let Jesus lead me down the uncomfortable path that leads to freedom. Then, as I visited the inner city mission-church in Cincinnati, I thought to myself how much this suburbanite was out of place andwas tempted to think that perhaps this was not the best idea. Then the week culminated with Kimberly tricking me into going to the Dentist. I have not been the dentist since I was 17 years old (its amazing what irrational fear can cause a grown man to do).
As I look back over this week, I can honestly say that every day of this week I found myself being made uncomfortable in some way. Can you believe God would do that to me? I mean, I thought he was all good and all-loving. Isn't it God's job to make me happy, comfortable, meet my every and bless the socks of of me in every way?
That may be what I prefer as I fly around in the warmth of my own comfort zone, but God's love for me is greater than my comfort. He lovingly leads me outside of comfort to the place where he can bring about real, needed, healing and lasting transformation. The place where God does that kind of work in us is in the place called "uncomfortable." Have you ever followed God there? Its the place where your desire to stay comfortable is sacrificed for His desire to make you whole. It is a painfully exciting place to be. It is painful as everything in you fights to stay where you have always been no matter how unhealthy and it is exciting because you know that if you can press on until you break through your comfort zone things that you could never imagine and only God could do will transpire in your life.
Hebrews 12 talks about this process. I encourage you to check it out. In that chapter of the Bible, the writer talks about how God disciplines his children. Discipline means all that goes into raising a child--encouragement, instruction, reprimand, training, rebuke and more. Uncomfortableness is not a sign that you are in the wrong place...it is not God's way of telling you he is mad...it is God's indication that he is ready to move you from where you have come to call home to the wide open sky he died to give you.
So, I have a question...will you and I insist on flying where we are comfortable or will we be so willing to follow Jesus that we let him lead us right in the middle of uncomfortable?
After the third week of sabbatical, the word that seems to be most fitting is uncomfortable.
2 comments:
I am enjoying and looking forward to your Random Thoughts every week while you are on sabbatical. It's comforting to hear how you are and what you are feeling. I am working hard trying to get out of my comfort zone right now, too, so this was a huge help to me. Thank you! You are in my thoughts and prayers daily.
Thank you for sharing, Diana...fro me comfgort zone's tend to die hard.
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