I’ve been working through the T25 Beachbody plan, and today’s workout is called Total Body Circuit. I hate that workout. I’ve been dreading it all day and no part of me wanted to hit play and get started. But I did. At no point during the workout was I comfortable. I strategically place myself so that I am not directly in front of the TV or I would just focus on how much time was left in the workout. I would have been much more comfortable sitting on my couch enjoying Netflix and chill. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t get me any closer to my goal, but rather would push me further away from it.
Recently, I was talking to a friend who was trying to encourage another friend to come to church. Their friend was avoiding church because it made them uncomfortable. They asked me what I thought they should tell them. My response was simple. Tell them, “So what.” Sometimes we need to be uncomfortable. Many times we are uncomfortable because we are acting selfishly or the Holy Spirit was convicting us. We use being uncomfortable as an excuse to not do anything.
If I sat in a church seat comfortably every Sunday what would be the point? Just like if I sat on my couch instead of working out, it would be harmful to me. But at least I’m at church right? Wrong. Sitting comfortably in a church chair is one of the biggest ploys of the enemy.
Too often we get caught in the trap that following Jesus is supposed to be comfortable. Jesus didn’t call us to be comfortable. In fact, there were many times Jesus said things that made people so uncomfortable that they stopped following Him (John 6:60-66, Luke 9:57-62, Matt 19:16-22). Jesus said things like you had to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to be His follower (John 6:53). He said you had to hate your family to be His follower (Luke 14:26). Clearly these verse by themselves are wildly out of context, but even in context to the people Jesus was speaking to, it made them so uncomfortable that they were not willing to follow Him.
When something about God makes us uncomfortable, it challenges us to think about why. It challenges us to change. It challenges us to grow. It challenges us to really love people. I’ve never had my boss correct me and been comfortable during the conversation, but I’ve grown and become a better person because of them.
It’s not easy, but I’m trying to stop focusing on being comfortable and focus more on Jesus. The cool thing is that I can take comfort in knowing He will never let me down. Time after time, when I do this, I’m amazed at the things God is able to do.
until next time…