Uncomfortable Blessings

The longer I live, the more in love with God I fall.

One of the reasons is His unrelenting determination to see in, expect from, and even insist on more from me than I ever do myself.

I like to pretend that I am courageous and adventurous but the truth is, I’m not either! I long for adventure and excitement … as long as my safety net is firmly in place. God, however, has much bigger plans and more in mind for us than staying tucked away within our own comfortable boundaries..  

I am so not a risk taker, but God sometimes demands that we take a leap of faith; He is never content to see us imprisoned and immobilized by fear and insecurity.

Other things I try to avoid are decision making and being the person who is ultimately responsible for…. well, pretty much anything! If there’s someone else around who is secure, confident and decisive, that works for me… but not for God, because He doesn’t call us to ride along in someone else’s strength, rather to depend fully on HIS.

I love God for the times He has drug me kicking and screaming from places where I was content with “less” and not wanting “more.”

I love Him for the times I tried as hard as Moses did when God called him to stay in a place where I was comfortable, and He said “no” to my complacency.

I love God for the times He saw me as capable when I didn't and forced me to assume responsibilities I didn’t ask for and didn’t want. In this way I learned a lot about God and also about me. I think that’s true for most all of us.

Why are we willing to settle for less than we can be? Why is it that we can want so much less for ourselves than God wants for us?

 I don’t know, but I love God for not being content to leave us alone, for being determined to move us into potential that we ourselves haven’t even seen, let alone desired. I can't see Moses getting to the end of his life and saying, “I wish God had left me alone and let me stay where I was comfortable.”

I’m no Moses but, for all of the times I cling to the comfortable, today I love God for pushing me to venture beyond it. I love Him for believing in me more than I do, for demanding more than I ever would, and for choosing to use and work within me regardless of all the “me” there is to overcome.

Here’s to many comfortable blessings and maybe just one or two uncomfortable ones…Until next time!