Comfortably uncomfortable

In the natural I wouldn’t call myself an adventurer by any means.  I don’t crave the thrill of adrenalin sport, I don’t drive fast and I certainly don’t queue for hours to ride the latest and greatest roller coaster.  I do however crave the thrill of seeing the lost saved, seeing miracles, signs and wonders, traveling far and wide to preach the gospel and meeting people from other cultures and tribes…so I guess there is a little bit of “adventurer-blood” coursing through my veins after all.

Yesterday a man of God made a statement that really resonated with me.  He said:  “people need to be mobilised…too many Christians are bored”.  Isn’t that the truth!  I am going to be real and confess that more often than not, I am bored.  There.  It’s said.  I. AM. BORED.  I am uncomfortable with how comfortable Christianity has become, like a well-worn pair of slippers, fuzzy and utterly cosy.  There is a doctrine and theology to suit every taste, bent and disfunction.  Sin an issue?  No problem, let’s just “not believe in hell anymore”.  Want to have your own way, every time?  Taken care of.  God gives us the desires of our hearts, let’s just name it and claim it.  Lust an issue?  Easily fixed.  Act out now and repent later…God’s good and kind and forgiving .  Go into all the world (and your school, workplace, neighbourhood) and preach the gospel, teaching people and making disciples of all men?  Will have to pray about that…no, not called…

A scripture that convicts or challenges us?  Let’s just read a different book, blog or opinion piece until we find one that confirms what we want to Word to say…voila.

Elohim Kadoshim, the Holy God, Who made us in His image, Who calls us to be holy, as He is holy, Who sent Jesus to die for us so that we can be righteous and live righteous has seemingly been transformed into God, made in our own image.  Jesus, the great Adventurer, the wild, fearless Warrior King has been sufficiently tamed to fit comfortably into very small compartments, left over after we have filled our lives to the brim with the things we do to curb our relentless need for entertainment and to relieve our terminal boredom.

Once, some time ago, I received a prophetic word that I should get comfortable with being uncomfortable; that it was the Lord keeping me in discomfort because He wants me to keep going higher, and deeper.  He has been true to His word.  I am at rest and at peace and yet, more often than not, comfortably uncomfortable.  Oh, how I long for every person who calls themselves by Jesus’ name to get uncomfortable with being comfortable.  How I long for churches to be thoroughly uncomfortable for demons of every kind, while being comfortable, free spaces for the broken, the young in the faith and those coming in after a great God-adventure to recover, rest and get replenished, ready for the next intrepid journey.  How amazing would it be if churches and congregations became the place where the saints are trained and equipped to be mobilised, rather than parking lots for the terminally bored and perpetually unproductive.

Derek Prince said “Just when we think we’ve arrived at a certain sort of plateau God begins to deal with us and say, ‘Come up higher, there’s another step.’  And although it is demanding and challenging, it’s exciting.  I would say if you’re having a dull time as a Christian, in all probability you’re not in what God has initiated because when God initiates it, it’s exciting.”

 I beg your pardon if I sound harsh or unkind, but some things need to be said.  If someone claims to love Jesus, they will want to be where He is, they will want to obey His precepts and do His will.  If you love the Father, you will want to be close to Him.  God always backs Himself.  He backs His Word, He backs His Son and He backs His sons.  We do not have to stagnate to the point we are immobile, immovable and bored stiff.  We preach healing…He heals.  We preach freedom…He delivers.  We pray, He hears.  We seek, He finds.

As we are heading toward Easter, the season when we celebrate the greatest Love of all, remember the greatest sacrifice ever, let us crucify our comfort, like Jesus did, let us embrace what He did for us and out of gratitude, let us ask Father to give us the gift of discomfort.  As we rejoice in Jesus’ resurrection, let us pray for a resurrection of every dead and dying place in our hearts, let us embrace the grace and mercy Jesus bestowed on us…mercy that sets us free and grace that empowers us to do His will, obey His commands.  I am praying for God adventures…may they be frequent, may they be spectacular and may they help us to fall deeper in love with Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit and humanity.  Today we are free to choose, free to say yes…free indeed.

 Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.

 Galatians 5:1  TPT