Today I was thinking about how cold it is outside, which is relatively not cold compared to what it will be when winter arrives. Then I started thinking about blasting the heat in my car to make sure that my environment is as comfortable as possible. It was at that moment that I came to the realization that I am addicted to comfort. One of my goals in life is to be as comfortable as possible. I save for retirement so that I'll be comfortable. I wear clothes that are comfortable. I set the temperature in my house, car, office, etc. so that it's comfortable. But what if comfort isn't a good thing? What if it's actually counter-productive to the life of faith. In the process of seeking to be comfortable, I avoid situations that make me uncomfortable. When I avoid situations that are uncomfortable, I remove opportunities that God puts before me to stretch my faith. It's really uncomfortable to go on a mission trip. It's really uncomfortable to see someone in distress and to ask if you can pray for him or her. It's really uncomfortable to share your faith with someone or to talk about eternity with a person who is outside of the church. So as a lover of comfort, I avoid most of those situations. That was until the Lord called Kari and me to Brazil. I love being comfortable, but I will be forced to give up a lot of comforts when we move down South for our ADVENTURE. I keep thinking about all of the things I want to stock up on before I leave (peanut butter, shampoo, Tide, Lemon Lift tea, Vanilla Coke, etc.). In my mind I was thinking about how much I would hate to be without those creature comforts for such a long period of time. But maybe God wants to take those creature comforts away from me. Perhaps it's when our comfort is gone that we rely on Him more. How comfortable are you? Is it time to get uncomfortable?
About Seth
Seth is a pastor, author, and speaker who lives in Batesville, Indiana. He is married to Kari, and they have two daughters, Madelyn and Noelle.
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