By Mark Maher
“For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:5)
We can do the difficult or the seemingly impossible things in life for Christ. If Christ is in it, the strength and grace are so much more abundant. The uncomfortable eventually becomes comfortable.
While you’re in it, it’s never easy. The initial is never easy. But over time. The ultimate healer is Christ. The second healer is time. Life is seasons. This is why every season of suffering or adversity, if processed correctly, and after a while, becomes our place of ministry. (1 Corinthians 1:3-5)
If processed correctly, if run through the right framework, if the promises of God are clung to, your setbacks are an eventual set up to be used for God like never before. If processed right, your job is to never let your setback define you, it’s not to become your idol, you’re not called to stay there, you’re called to use it and glorify God through it. He is your idol.
So after the season of suffering, are they going to remember you for the setback or for what God did through you and now they know you by your faith and your faith has the potential to flourish in every season of adversary.
And if this becomes your habit, you’ll let your faith lead in every single day of little troubles, in fact you’ll start to embrace trouble because it’s the place where you and Christ come together and process it out and how best to handle it, through prayer and petition, He will whisper every ounce of wisdom, and show you how to navigate life his way.
I was uncomfortable when I started high school, college, new job, began dating future wife, purchasing a new home, having children, raising children, dealing with loss. Teaching for 30 years is now in the rear view mirror of memories, but being uncomfortable and going through daily challenges was part of the process.
But now when I look back, tremendous fruit in every season of being uncomfortable initially. Felt uncomfortable to speak in front of the church, felt uncomfortable to lead a small group, felt uncomfortable posting a message on Facebook, felt uncomfortable starting a podcast, but over time, everything that was uncomfortable is now comfortable.
This is why you must begin. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” (Zechariah 4:10) This is why we follow the prompting of Christ and this is why obedience is our job and outcome is God’s job.
We learn to do it fearlessly and wait to see what’s on the other side of it. Everything mentioned above was so uncomfortable for a minute, but all of them led to so much fruit. So they encourage us to run towards our fears. The Bible reaches “fear not” 365 times. We have to take continual leaps of faith.
The uncomfortable is the best training ground, the place of the highest potential of growth. It’s sink or swim. The best way to give your testimony would be for someone to give you a mic and say you need to talk for 30 minutes and you have no choice. By being uncomfortable, you gain experience. You learn that you can do it scared. “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13) God is for you, not against you, hand in hand, partnered, and promises to “hold you fast.”
The faith walk has a lot of letting go and letting the spirit lead. You learn to step out of the way and to not think too much and just let the spirit speak. Organization is good, but letting what’s inside you, just simply come out of you, is trusting God. “Do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12)
This is why prayer out loud is special. You’ll learn what comes out of you. You lose the rote prayer and you gain what’s been inside of you. What’s God been putting inside of you all along, because “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) This is why we strive for authenticity. Christ said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25)
Always strive to get the heart right. If you’re feeding your faith daily, attune to his voice, He’ll tell you what to say. “Now may the God of peace EQUIP YOU with everything good for doing His WILL, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ.” (Hebrews 13:21)
It’s the place of vulnerability that you grow. It’s in every daily struggle. It’s the place of not being comfortable. And then He begins to layer you, “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18) and “strength to strength.” (Psalm 84:7) He begins to build up the infrastructure so that you’re versatile, and you are prepared for the battle now and ahead, and you can react to any situation.
In fact, you get yourself so prepared to fight your own battles that you’re so strengthened that you can step in and encourage people in their battles. “For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29) In other words, He is working on you and He is shedding all the unnecessary, and getting you down to what’s unshaken. (Hebrews 12:28) To be used be God to comfort others.
What things do we need to do that are uncomfortable in order to, in time, become comfortable. This is why David Goggins encourages us to do one thing that’s hard every day. It lets us know (a) we can do it and (b) you get stronger.
Speak in front of a small group or church. This leads to leadership skills and the ability to share your feelings with others.
Reach out to somebody that you wouldn’t normally reach out to. There are always blessings on the other side of relationships. ALWAYS.
Service projects. Putting yourself in positions where you’ve never been, in order to walk by faith. It’s the trusting God that we find our ultimate trust. How do we know we can trust Christ unless we let ourselves try.
Raising four teenage children and navigating life is an every day, beyond my comfort, driving me close to Christ, daily battle, reminding me to trust him, and then fear creeps back in, and I’m reminded to trust him, and this cycle happens almost every single day. And someday I’ll look back and miss every single minute.
