Living Uncomfortably
I had the opportunity to give a speech/toast at my sister's wedding. I had written down my thoughts a few weeks earlier but then decided to throw it all out the window. I sat down at midnight, the night before the wedding, thinking of what to say. I decided that at the end of my speech, I wanted to give her some life advice, since I am her older sister. This is something I have thought about a lot while transitioning from my year in Sierra Leone to my time in the U.S.
When I was in Sierra Leone, it was so simple to do my daily devotions every morning. It was a habit I developed and found out quickly that I needed that time with God each morning. I needed it to be filled with peace, comfort, and joy each and every day. I was living in an extremely uncomfortable situation and had to rely on God to comfort me, to protect me, and to provide for me.
However, when I came back to the U.S, I realized my habits of doing my devotions in the morning quickly changed. Part of that could be that we live in a world in the U.S that strives to be comfortable. We consume our lives with so many gadgets to make our live easier and more comfortable. Instead of washing our clothes by hand, we can just put them in a washing machine. Instead of washing our dishes by hand, we have dishwashers. Instead of walking everywhere, we have cars. So it seems much easier to rely on myself, rather than God. When we are too comfortable, it is simple to rely only on ourselves.
Its kind of a strange thing to say but I think God has called us as Christians to live uncomfortable lives. I have found that as I live in uncomfortable situations, I feel week, helpless, unable, inadequate. But through those weaknesses, God's power is made perfect. When we live uncomfortably, we have to turn to God as our source of peace, strength, joy, and comfort because we cannot do it on our own.
But it is so simple to sit back and just live a comfortable life because it is easier. And as humans, we are all about making things simpler, more convenient. So the question then is how do we go from living comfortably, to living uncomfortably? It does not mean you have to go to another country just to live uncomfortably. For myself, I can think of many things, just in Grand Rapids that I could do that would make me extremely uncomfortable. There are neighborhoods that I would feel uncomfortable walking in, there are stores I would feel uncomfortable going to, there are people I would feel uncomfortable meeting.
There are many things right where we are that can make us uncomfortable. God has given each of us a story and he is the author of that story. Many times, he will ask us to do things that are uncomfortable to us. Do we do it? Or do we go back to our comfortable lifestyle?
If you think about a story, what makes a story good is when the character is able to overcome extremely uncomfortable, unordinary circumstances. What kind of story are you writing with your life? Is it too comfortable?
When I was in Sierra Leone, it was so simple to do my daily devotions every morning. It was a habit I developed and found out quickly that I needed that time with God each morning. I needed it to be filled with peace, comfort, and joy each and every day. I was living in an extremely uncomfortable situation and had to rely on God to comfort me, to protect me, and to provide for me.
However, when I came back to the U.S, I realized my habits of doing my devotions in the morning quickly changed. Part of that could be that we live in a world in the U.S that strives to be comfortable. We consume our lives with so many gadgets to make our live easier and more comfortable. Instead of washing our clothes by hand, we can just put them in a washing machine. Instead of washing our dishes by hand, we have dishwashers. Instead of walking everywhere, we have cars. So it seems much easier to rely on myself, rather than God. When we are too comfortable, it is simple to rely only on ourselves.
Its kind of a strange thing to say but I think God has called us as Christians to live uncomfortable lives. I have found that as I live in uncomfortable situations, I feel week, helpless, unable, inadequate. But through those weaknesses, God's power is made perfect. When we live uncomfortably, we have to turn to God as our source of peace, strength, joy, and comfort because we cannot do it on our own.
But it is so simple to sit back and just live a comfortable life because it is easier. And as humans, we are all about making things simpler, more convenient. So the question then is how do we go from living comfortably, to living uncomfortably? It does not mean you have to go to another country just to live uncomfortably. For myself, I can think of many things, just in Grand Rapids that I could do that would make me extremely uncomfortable. There are neighborhoods that I would feel uncomfortable walking in, there are stores I would feel uncomfortable going to, there are people I would feel uncomfortable meeting.
There are many things right where we are that can make us uncomfortable. God has given each of us a story and he is the author of that story. Many times, he will ask us to do things that are uncomfortable to us. Do we do it? Or do we go back to our comfortable lifestyle?
If you think about a story, what makes a story good is when the character is able to overcome extremely uncomfortable, unordinary circumstances. What kind of story are you writing with your life? Is it too comfortable?
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