Get Uncomfortable

Comfort

It is a word we understand astoundingly well. After all, we have an entire style of cooking dedicated to food that reminds us of home, to comfort us. We've got countless modern amenities that provide us with a life of ease and then some. Somewhere that became the norm. If it wasn't comfortable we just stopped doing it altogether in favor of easier things. For the majority of the Christians in the United States their faith has gone this way as well. It needs to stop. Get uncomfortable! You weren't put here to be comfortable or safe. If you were there would be no impoverished countries in the world or people killed for their faith.

If you want your faith to grow you have to do the things that scare you. Should you happen to be like me that is public speaking or really talking to strangers or people over the age of about sixteen. I'm not a people person, I never have been, probably never will be. I despise crowds and when I do speak in public I need time to be alone so I can reset and let the adrenaline that pumps through my body dissipate. Yesterday I did something far beyond the norm. In fact it was one of the biggest challenges I've faced in some time;I lead devotions at Upward.

Let me preface that with this; This past Summer during VBS I was given the opportunity to lead a missions segment for the Middle School students. We averaged roughly one-hundred students. By the end of the week I went from being so nervous I was not sure that I wasn't going to vomit/hyperventilate to anticipating the few minutes I had on stage. I love missions, I love to talk about missions and will gladly discuss them with you given the chance. However, one-hundred middle school students is nothing compared to fifty or sixty parents when speaking on anything, especially an unplanned something. That was what yesterday was like.

The way things worked out yesterday Eric Dill lead devotions for the first two games and then asked if I would mind leading the next couple so he could rest for awhile and then come back and finish up the last two games (Upward games range from 9-5), so I told him sure. Then I prayed, a lot. There is a large difference in teaching on something you've planned for days or longer and just winging it.  I winged the devotions. There was a verse to base it off of and a story but I didn't like the story so I didn't use it. I basically focused on the verse and the topic which was gratitude. The verse itself was 1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

A verse I already knew but will probably be etched forever in my memory because of yesterday.

That means we are to be thankful even when bad things happen. If you think I'm crazy just read that verse again-all circumstances means even bad times. Easier said than done? Certainly, but you have to realize the way you can do that is by knowing where your hope lies. If you don't have Jesus that is impossible. You can't be thankful for a cancer diagnosis if you don't have Jesus. You don't have hope period. Jesus is how you give thanks when your world crashes down around you. How? You realize that no matter how horrible things are you have Jesus so you are just fine no matter the circumstance.

That was essentially what I told all these parents. Eric did as well, only he used more words and said it more eloquently. What he did in 5-6 minutes the first two games I did in a minute and a half to two minutes the four times I did it. (I also talk incredibly fast)

What does all that have to do with being uncomfortable? You are about to find out.

Talking in public scares me. I did it anyway. It made me uncomfortable. I did it anyway, four times in one day. Why? Because your faith isn't grown when you are doing the things that make you feel safe and comfortable. Your faith is grown when you are put in a situation where your only option is to trust God and rely on Him to get you through. I tell the Middle School students this (especially the 7th grade boys) constantly. I practice what I preach. I know this feeling well and I'm sure this won't be the last time I do something that scares me because God is giving me the opportunity to trust Him in something new.

This morning I taught middle school small group and had a blast doing it (the exact opposite of yesterday). It helped that the passage was one I studied last week personally and it is one I know. I was also excited about giving the students the backstory before we jumped into the implications of what we read. If you ever doubt God works in mysterious and crazy ways just read Acts 10.Yesterday I started and finished quickly, this morning I talked about ten minutes longer than I had planned on for a total of about thirty-forty minutes.


I'm not telling you that you will do something uncomfortable and find a new hobby. I'll be honest yesterday freaked me out, it was a neat experience and one I'm grateful to have had, but that doesn't mean I plan on doing that again every Saturday. I'm just telling you that you have to be willing to step outside of what makes you feel safe to grow.

You don't keep training wheels on a bike forever, at some point you slip them off and go. Faith is a lot like that. You have to take the training wheels off and go and trust that God is going to give you what you need;Don't worry because He will.

 I tend to view myself like Moses when God tells him to go to Pharaoh and Moses starts complaining about not being eloquent etc etc. God's response is I made your mouth. Well, it is kind of hard to argue with that. I'm a reluctant leader. Reluctant in I'm an introvert and not the type-A personality generally associated with leading, but the past two years or so I've been given more opportunities to step up and lead. Whether that chance came in the form of Small Group, Devotions, Wednesday night, or Bible Study. I'll probably never rally an army but leading is something I'm slowly getting used to doing. It isn't always easy, and certainly not comfortable, but it is worth it because it comes with the reward of spiritual growth.

So do me a favor. Actually do yourself a favor, next time God puts an opportunity in front of you to do something that makes you uncomfortable, take it. Stretch yourself. Trust Him. Grow. You won't regret it.

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."-John A Shedd