Go Up!

I sit in my new memory foam office chair as I type this evotional. I must say I am quite comfortable. Even after sitting in this chair for over 8 hours, I still am enjoying the relaxing nature of being at ease.

Are you where I am? Are you comfortable with your life? How long have you been sitting in your easy chair of faith? I love what John Maxwell says about this, “Comfort lulls us into complacency. We get accustomed to routine or familiar with a role, so we settle in. As leaders, we must relentlessly challenge ourselves not to let ease and security dissuade us from making the changes necessary to fulfill our vision.” I would add as followers of Christ we must be challenged to fulfill God’s vision for our lives, it does not come naturally.

There is no better partner in challenging our comfort zones than the Holy Spirit. He knows that true living is about us giving up control. He knows that life is a series of tradeoffs if we are going to grow. See, in order for you to take hold of something better, you have to let go of what you currently hold. In order to go up, you must first give up!

Though it seems backward to us, God teaches us that when we think we’re in control we are actually out of control, that when we feel strong we’re really weak. God tells us this so that we will acknowledge our weakness and humble ourselves before the Him. When we refuse to give up our comfort or control we build walls that at some point must and will be torn down by God. Andrew Murray said it this way: “Humility is the only soil in which virtue takes root; a lack of humility is the explanation of every defect and failure." POWERFUL, I am getting a little uncomfortable….

See, it’s when we let go of our need for comfort, our need to be in control, our need to glory in our strengths or accomplishments or our paycheck or our trophies or our co-workers’ approval or whatever it is that keeps you from abandoning a comfortable version of the cross—it’s then that God does in our lives what he did in Christ’s death. It’s then that God does in our hearts what He did for the cross. And He takes followers who were hanging by a thread and bolsters their spirits. He takes followers who were at their weakest moment and uses it for enormous kingdom good. He takes followers who are all but defeated and He turns their testimonies into life-giving messages of truth and hope, all to His glory. He turns Fans into fully dedicated followers! (See 2 Corn 12:9)

(1 Corinthians 1:22) “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”