Occasionally a word makes me stop and mull. Today it is COMFORTABLE. Am I?? Are you??What brought it to mind this morning was a song I was listening to on the radio... "All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong".
Sometimes I know that I fall easily into being far too comfortable in this world. I'm talking about the things around us that we get so used to seeing and hearing, that used to make us uncomfortable as Christians. It should raise a red flag when that happens. It's what I think of as the numbing of our hearts and minds. There's an awful lot around us that is labeled 'tolerable', things that should not be tolerable.
My standard as God's child should both question and be concerned at some of these things. It seems today that WE are the ones who are made to feel odd and extreme, when we don't go with the flow of what is 'in' and 'acceptable'.
Does that mean I am not to enjoy this world I live in? Not at all! I am a lover of life, God gave it to me. He created all things for us to enjoy. But there are limits, just as there were for Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit. When the things that used to make me squirm don't do it anymore... it's time for a heart check!
It could be as simple as a book or a movie, or a joke told in front of a crowd that laughs when we know it's not really the right kind of funny. Or it could be much bigger, the very values and truths that God has taught us in His Word. They are not always popular in today's world, as you know.
I've blogged about other words... balance, and mediocrity, so I think this is a message that God means for me to walk in and share. You know how He does those kinds of things in our lives, right? The way we GET certain truths, that nudge us in our spirit, that says stop, or stand up, or speak a word.
So... COMFORTABLE can be just fine, God's way. But it can also be a yellow caution sign that says 'am I too comfortable' with things that I should be squirming over?
I love the hammock, the picture takes me right to the beach, listening to the waves in the background.
It also tends to make me fall asleep.
Too much time in the hammock can lull me right into being too comfortable. There is a time for comfortable, and a time to roll right off of the hammock and get back to it!
13 comments:
Amen...it goes with my pondering...I heard someone was content and steady...both good words, both good qualities, except if I become steady and content in my walk then the Lord would rather spit me out of his mouth
I just finished Lioness Arising and realizing I have become too comfortable, steady and content in my walk...I am not ruffling any feathers...which means I am not doing anything...time to get HOT and Arise for me...I think Fall has some new things in store
Now my son can tell you how to sleep in that hammock!! LOL, He even made a stand for one in his bedroom!
Keep cool while God stirs you from your comfort zone
this is a very timely post. It is really sad that this world has turned the people where we must tolerate everything so that we won't offend no one. But, how about offending GOd? So, this post is a reminder for all of us. Thanks for sharing.
hope you can visit my new blog too: willyouhearfromme.blogspot.com
it is about my daily walk with God and what I hear from his in every area of my life.
Hmmm...I haven't felt comfortable in this world for some time now...at least four years and probably more like eleven. We lean on Him and trust Him to show us what to do next. Busyness for busyness's sake can be just as wrong as slothfulness or apathy. Always something to think about here!
This was a great post (like all of yours) and what you said is just soo true. Our hearts can soo easily be hardened into not being bothered by what we SHOULD be. By both allowing things we shouldn't be, and by NOT doing what we know we must. Like Janette said, we become so comfortable with it all, that the Lord wants to spit us from His mouth.
May we ALL watch over our comfort zones with more determination.
Have a good week-end!
Can't get comfortable in "our" plans, can we? God can choose to take on us a different plan in a heartbeat.
I see another danger with my comfortableness . . . time wasting! I could stay in the hammock all day, only to look back on that day and think to myself, "What did I do today?"
Guilty as charged. I'm going to try and be active today. Thank you.
peace~elaine
From shoes to chairs, I'm always on a quest for the comfortable. I fear, even in retirement, I gravitate towards a lifestyle of comfort as well. Now I'm wondering if comfort & complacency aren't just flip sides of the same coin?!!
I'm with you, though. I want to be fully awake - which is to say I want to be fully alive - - "God's way". All other ground is sinking sand!
Hugs,
Kathleen
Love this one Sonja! The Lord has provided so many comforts for each one of us. We simply need to look around and notice.
I'm reading a book titled "Set Apart". One chapter speaks of pleasure. We don't need to set a goal to pursue pleasure. We need to delight in God's creation and all He has given to us.
I think of the moments I had this week at school. Little Melika wouldn't stay still for her nap time after lunch. But when I rubbed her back, she instantly went to sleep smiling. I love those little moments.
Love you,
Debbie
You know how to hurt a guy, don't you.
Thanks, I needed that and God bless you.
Yes, Yes, and More Yes! This is in keeping with a unit I'm currently teaching my Sunday School class. I pray regularly that God would wake me when I start to doze and prick me when I start to get numb to that which ought to jolt my spirit.
I just typed more but deleted it. No sense dragging you down my rabbit hole of meandering thought just because it was sparked by this post.
Hi Sonja,
This is wonderful and totally thought provoking. It is so easy to fall into being comfortable with things we shouldn't.
I am so careful with what I allow into my mind...sometimes I think life would be easier if I were not like this but I am so glad I am!
Wonderful post!
Barb
Oh dear friend, you said it best here:
"It's what I think of as the numbing of our hearts and minds. There's an awful lot around us that is labeled 'tolerable', things that should not be tolerable."
Your words in this post ring with confirmation for a conversation I was having with a fellow Christian the other day who challenged that God wants us to be more tolerable/comfortable. I challenged that our tolerable and comfortable should not be to the degree that it's against what God's Word says. Oh how easy it is for us to fall asleep in this world and be overtaken by stuff, behaviors, mind-sets, etc. that don't align with His Word.
One thing that I saw so much in my childhood church that I don't see as much of today is a word that we don't often like to say, "accountability". We even see it in the Word. People helped each other to walk with GOD for real...the God of the Bible not the god of tolerable.
It's a message you've shared here that I know we all need and notice I said, "we" because I include myself wholeheartedly.
I love you dear friend. Been enjoying my visit with you this day.
Oh and if God has led you to speak about the word accountability please lead me to that post too :) Love you friend!
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