Something we as Americans place above everything is our comfort level. We have plush chairs so we don't have to sit on a hard surface. Some of these chairs even recline for a better experience when sitting. We have cars that now give off their own wifi signal so we don't ever have to use our phone data to check a social media platform and see people we might not even care about come up. Currently the transportation service Uber is working on self-driving cars so we don't have to work hard at something so mundane. When did we become so uncomfortable with being uncomfortable?

Now, with that being said, I have nothing against being comfortable. I love my comfort zone. It's nice and safe in there, but Christ did not call us to be comfortable. He called us to be obedient despite our comfort level. If we're being honest, I'm not very comfortable writing. As a matter of fact, it's the thing I do the worst (Aside from dunking a basketball). God has required those of us who proclaim Him as Savior to go make disciples of all nations despite how comfortable we are with it (Matthew 28:18-20). The comfort in being uncomfortable is that we need not depend on our own strength. The One who has overcome the world and everything in it must be our strength and hope in every situation (John 16:33). Full devotion to Jesus means being uncomfortable in the majority of situations so that He might be most glorified through us. The comfort in being uncomfortable is that we can't do it ourselves and we must rely upon God in all things which produces comfort in knowing that in all things, He overcomes.

I say this from a place of experience. I'm only 20 and the vast majority of my life has been fairly comfortable due to me being born in America to a loving family who continue to seek God daily but there have been uncomfortable situations. One example is the summer after I graduated high school. During my senior year, I started taking my walk with Jesus more seriously than I had previously. This meant that I would attend my youth group but I would go to the junior high service instead of the high school service due to my lack of understanding the things of God and years of not paying attention in church. Shortly after I graduated, my student pastor asked me to be an intern for them and the rest is history. (I wrote about it here!) Due to me dedicating my life to the ministry and calling God has placed upon my life, I lost almost every friend I ever knew. I went into college with a friend who moved to Stillwater and a friend who was about to leave for basic training for the Marine Corps. I was completely alone going into a school that was completely unknown to me. I was all alone going into the scariest part of my life: college. I was uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable with the situation but I realized that to get through this time of trial, I must press into God. I knew that I was doing what God wanted me to so I kept on. I was exactly in the center of the will of God and there was no greater comfort and peace than knowing that in the end, I was going to be fine because of Him. When we are faced with uncomfortable situations, we must rely upon the One who overcomes all things. Much love and God bless.