The extra 15 minutes of blissful sleep after pressing the snooze button.
The cold hands around a hot cup of coffee.
The perfect balance of milk and cereal.
The hugs from family before heading out the door.
The sound of a favorite song cruising down the road.
The random warm greeting of an old friend.
The day that goes as planned with a couple fun surprises along the way.
So let’s face it. We all love comfort. We all love routine. We all love those sweet moments and feelings that ground us and center us and assure us that life is worth living. Just enough sweetness to keep us hoping and going.
But is there such a thing as too comfortable? Hear me out…
When comfort slows and not grows our potential…
When comfort controls and not compels our passions…
When comfort defines and not refines our purpose…
When comfort seeks to get from and not give to people…
It becomes unhealthy. It becomes an idol. It becomes the main thing.
Now, by all means please keep drinking coffee and keep channeling your inner Olaf with warm hugs and keep booking those vacations and keep watching HDTV.
But be careful. Pay attention to your heart. Because when something becomes a God thing when it’s really just a good thing, our hope migrates away from the Creator and to the created.
And our possessions possess us. And what we own begins to own us.
Are we too comfortable? Probably.
Here’s the real question: How badly do we want to be like Jesus? How badly do we want others to be like Jesus?
Throughout the Scriptures we see a God calling a people out of comfort and into courage. Why? Because His growth plan for us and for the spread of the Gospel involves a simple strategy:
Discomfort.
He called Noah out of his home and into the ark.
He called Abraham out of Harran and into a foreign land.
He called Moses out of the wilderness and into Egypt.
He called Jonah out of the whale and into Nineveh.
He called David out of the fields and into battle.
He called Peter out of the boat and onto the water.
Is God calling you out of the known and into the unknown? Out of comfort and into courage?
God called me out. In fact, I think He’d been calling me out for awhile. But comfort and safety and security and stability and my routine meant way too much to give up. His gentle and patient whisper went in one ear and out the other…
I loved my job at New Charlotte Church. The leadership. The teaching. The community. The students. The chance to connect newcomers. Even the gym smell.
In four years, I developed and grew and matured into a more humble yet more confident Father, husband, leader, and friend. I am thankful.
But God called me out. One night in early January at 2am I finally listened. He said, “It’s time to step out. It’s time to keep growing. For the sake of the Gospel, step out.”
So I did. And I’ll be honest. Stepping out is scary and intimidating. Especially when you don’t know where you’re going. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, I sometimes wonder if I made the right decision.
But one thing is clear: I am seeking God and depending on Him more. I am more desperate for help, for wisdom, and for guidance. And I am incredibly excited about where God will lead me next…
I am attending a University called Adversity. And I am learning and growing more than I ever did at the College of Comfort.
What is God calling you out of? What is God calling you into? Are you learning and growing and maturing where you are?
Now maybe God isn’t calling you to quit your job or move somewhere. But maybe He is calling you to be more faithful where you are. Calling you out of fear and into courage. Out of guilt and into freedom. Out of sorrow and into joy. Out of getting and into giving. Out of anger and into love.
So may we remember a God who stepped up so we could step out. A God who loved us so much that He stepped out of Heaven, and into our world. Out of the upper room and onto the Cross. And out of death and into life.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Hebrews 12:1-3