I have learned in serving God that one of the keys is becoming comfortable being uncomfortable. I know, I know, that sounds like an oxymoron. But hear me out.
Consider with me a few examples from scripture. The disciples are in a boat and a storm is raging around them. Amidst the worry about the storm, they see a figure walking on the water! It’s storming, so they are already in danger, and now there is a man walking on water towards them. That is just plain SPOOKY!!! We laugh when they thought it was a ghost because we have the whole book with the end of the story, but they didn’t have that. For all they knew, it was death coming to claim them! At that moment, they were distinctly UNCOMFORTABLE.
Now let’s move along and talk about a blind man. I’m going to nickname him “Tom” for ease of reference. Tom has been sitting begging for years, unable to see, and in those days, there were not ADA compliant buildings, computers that talked and read things for you, or seeing eye dogs. That’s not an enviable position to be in under any circumstances. Life is already hard, and then this man Jesus comes along. Envision him listening as Jesus explains to the crowd that he was born blind for the glory of God and wondering exactly what glory God was getting out of his malady. Then, a sound different than the din of voices catches his attention. Remember, being blind, Tom’s hearing would have been impeccable. Imagine his thoughts and emotions as he hears the distinctive sound of spitting, and then feels something wet and gooey being wiped on his eyes! Friends, that had to be UNCOMFORTABLE!
Or, picture being James and John, the sons of Zebedee. It’s just a normal work day for the boys and their dad, and kind of a boring one. Instead of being out on the water with the wind in their hair fishing, they were stuck sitting and mending nets. But it was part of the job and the guys passed the time, maybe telling fishing tales about the one that got away as they worked. Suddenly, this stranger walks up and introduces himself as Jesus and tells James and John He wants them to leave the family fishing business and follow him. Can you imagine? Something tells them this is the opportunity of a lifetime and a burning inside pushes them to accept and follow the man. But to do so is to leave the financial security of the family fishing business and the comforts of a “normal” life. And to make matters worse, Zebedee is sitting there amidst the nets spluttering about this being an irresponsible and foolish idea and surely they aren’t actually going to consider it are they??? A decision must be made on the spot – to follow Christ or not. That was an UNCOMFORTABLE position to be in!
Or how about the Day of Pentecost? Those gathered in the upper room have just received the Holy Ghost and others, hearing the commotion have gathered and begun to ask questions. Peter starts to preach and tells them that with wicked hands they had murdered the Lord of Glory! That’s a rough accusation, and what made it worse was when he said it, they realized he was right! Peter’s words suddenly felt like a knife stabbing them in the heart as they were faced with the reality that they had willingly and knowingly killed, not just an innocent man, but God in flesh! That was an UNCOMFORTABLE moment!
Move forward in time with me and walk with Peter and John toward the temple at the hour of prayer. They see a man they had seen many times before. The poor bloke was lame and had been since birth, left with no way to make a living besides begging at the gate. Peter and John don’t have any money, and they see this man and feel bad for him. What a difficult life he was living! But suddenly, God nudges Peter’s heart and tells him, “You tell him to stand up and walk in my name!” Imagine being Peter at that moment. If he does it and nothing happens, he’s going to embarrass himself and the lame man and he’s probably going to make the lame man very angry, especially since he has no money to make up for making a spectacle of him! Peter now has to decide if he heard from God and has the faith to follow through, or if that was just a stray thought. If I were in Peter’s shoes, that would have been a horribly UNCOMFORTABLE moment!
Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, let’s look at “the rest of the story!” Get back on the boat with the disciples and the “ghost” walking across the water. That uncomfortable moment suddenly becomes an opportunity for Peter to experience an incredible miracle of walking on water with Jesus (which included some additional uncomfortable moments) and then Jesus got in the boat, calmed the storm and got them safely back to shore. They learned the critical lesson that Jesus will always come through as savior and protector, but they had to be uncomfortable first.
Now, let’s revisit Tom, the blind man. Slimy spit stuff on his eyes – an uncomfortable moment – led to him receiving his sight! He can see, he can work a job, he can get married and have a family and provide for them… He just got handed the fullness of LIFE in one moment when, instead of stopping Jesus and saying, “Hold up, Bro! I just heard you spitting on the ground and now you’re reaching for my face…what exactly do you plan to do here?” he stood still and let God make him uncomfortable long enough to work a miracle for him.
James and John made the difficult decision to follow this man. The Bible doesn’t tell us if it caused a family rift, or what plans they had for their own futures they may have given up because of their choice. It tells us only that there were given the incredible opportunity to spend 3 years walking and talking with God in the flesh. They saw miracles, heard Him teach with their own ears, and got to be part of the foundation of the Church!
Stand with those on the Day of Pentecost and hear Peter’s sermon. They had to choose to stand there and face the horribly uncomfortable conviction and all of the emotions that went with it, or get angry, tell themselves Peter was delusional and storm off. By forcing themselves to stay there, accept their own guilt, and experience true sorrow, they received forgiveness and the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost! What a lovely trade for a half hour of being uncomfortable!
And finally, walk along with Peter and John as they follow the formerly lame man who is happily dancing a jig all the way into the temple, praising God and rejoicing. Surely, Peter must have been thankful he chose the awkwardness of telling a crippled guy to get up and walk over the security and comfort of just avoiding eye contact and walking past when he felt that nudging of the Spirit to act.
Roller coasters are a major attraction at theme parks around the world. Why? Because they create the feeling of hair-raising danger with insane heights, flips, spins, and sometimes even riding backwards all with the safety and security of knowing you will come through the ride alive. It’s an adrenaline rush like few others! People pay lots of money and then wait in line for hours to get on a roller coaster and ride it, grinning all the way, because they trust the engineers and safety inspectors who designed and maintain the ride. Living for God is not all that different in some regards. If you do it right, God will repeatedly put you in situations that will scare you to death. But if you will learn to trust Him, you will eventually develop the confidence that regardless of how dangerous the next “corkscrew” looks, the God who designed this ride intends for you to walk off at the end safe and sound. If you stick it out and let Him put you in those “uncomfortable” situations often enough, you will get so accustomed to it that you not only ride the ride with a big grin on your face, you start asking Him to do it again! (And for those of you thinking, “yeah, and I don’t ride roller coasters in the natural either” … He can find a Scrambler or Kiddie Coaster for you while you develop some confidence!)
“God, I want to see You work
miracles and I want to be the instrument that You use to make it happen! Need to make me uncomfortable? No problem.
My palms may be sweaty, my stomach may be in knots, but I want to see
the Glory of God!!!
I’ll go tell that person
about the God who can heal them and offer to pray for them on the spot.
I’ll walk on the platform and
sing with my voice squeaking and knees knocking if that’s what it takes to see
the Presence of God sweep through the house in stunning waves of glory.
Need to convict me of some
things and make me see my own faults and errors? Send me a preacher and let him preach to
me! I’ll fall in an altar and repent
when he’s done, because I want everything You have for me!
Need me to walk away from my
own plans for life and the future I had mapped out? You have an imagination bigger and better
than mine. I’ll gladly trade my plans
for Yours because I have no doubt Your ideas are better.
I may think mud made from
spit is a disgusting approach, but if that’s how You want to go about giving me
the miracle I so desperately need, bring on the spit!”