I’ve been hearing that word in this season, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable” It is my personality to get comfortable. If I go to someone’s house, even if it’s my first visit, and we are in a social setting, and I feel it is a safe place, I will more than likely take my shoes off, fold my feet underneath me on the sofa and make myself comfortable. I simply do not like being uncomfortable. I even drive without shoes in the summer, usually with one leg up on the seat that is leaned back while the other is on the pedal b/c that is most comfortable for me. My music is also blaring. I know, you probably will never ride with me knowing this, but I’ve been doing it a good 10 years now and have never had an incident if that makes you feel better 😉.
For the bulk of my time in fellowship with my spiritual community I have been very UNcomfortable. Church pews were replaced by school auditorium rows and then seats in soup kitchens and then with chairs in hotel rooms. We finally found some stability in a children’s daycare/old school building for 5 years where we arranged ourselves in a circle and dialogued the lessons Holy Spirit was teaching. But even that environment didn’t last and we shifted to Panera Bread (yes, the restaurant). Which I can’t complain about b/c I love that place and to have spiritual meetings there was pretty much the best of both worlds. But again we moved and now meet at a member’s house.
We are always moving. Always shifting and following Holy Spirit regardless of the space, time or venue. If that were not enough the spiritual lessons we learn from themselves have made me very uncomfortable. No more being babied with a word from the Pastor that spoke exactly into the situation I was dealing with. Now I was being trained and equipped to be a maturing believer. Which required me to give my feedback and to release my own sound. And for the last 5 years or so I have yearned for release from these lessons that seemed over my head and not relevant to my personal life. Then in this season the puzzle pieces started coming together. Now I can see that what I’ve been taught is not only relevant to my personal life but is vital to it. Still, I feel like the lessons are really for my future self. Like they are big shoes that I still need to grow into. But when I shared that with my Pastor he reminded me “get comfortable being uncomfortable”. The man has 30 years on me and I know wisdom when I hear it.
As previously shared my nature is to find comfort so being uncomfortable hits me in a way it may not hit others. Still, I see the need for being uncomfortable. Living alone in this season was so uncomfortable for me. Not that I hadn’t lived alone before but I had never lived alone and had no codependent relationships to lean on. But now I am actually getting more comfortable in this season. I am valuing my alone time to seek Him in the mornings and evenings. He (God) is the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last person I think of when going to bed at night. I feel like I have the luxury of developing emotionally, spiritually and mentally without any distractions in this season. I can shut out the world and zone in on Him and receive His downloads.
If you find yourself uncomfortable on the path He has for you, I encourage you to lean into Him. Only He can fulfill that longing or need that is causing you grief.
Only He can satisfy.
Only He can comfort.
John 14:16
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever
SHALOM
I enjoyed that message. God directs our steps and He will not take us anywhere without being prepared, it is just us putting ourselves in the way of receiving the blessings that He has for us and for others. We are here to help serve others and we don’t know the day, time, or the hour that this will occur or how we think we may respond but with those behind the scenes moments that we spent with God makes us ready to respond without thinking about ourselves or what others may think.
Tx Linda! Beautifully stated!
Ugh…this is SO tough for me too. But such a good word!
For me, being uncomfortable is about relinquishing control. I feel like the Lord uses my seasons of discomfort to stretch me and grow me, and I’m slowly but surely learning those seasons are training for ” my future self”…just like you said.
Amen sis. Letting go is ALWAYS difficult for me. Im LEARNING that i don’t have to fear Him and can trust Him. But fear always seems to oppose me…
This is a great article Nicole. I av benefitted from this article. Cos there is an issue in my life dat God is telling me take a certain step but am uncomfortable for certain reasons. I am a Christian dat sees obedience to God as very important for survival but on ds step God’s telling me to take, its really uncomfortable for me for so many reasons. But i am encouraged by ds article of urs. I wl try and get comfortable. God wl see me tru cos he’s d one who told me to take d step.
Tx Deborah!