COMFORT ZONES

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.  Isaiah 40:1  (KJV)

 

I’ve just returned from a mission trip to Uganda and am chuckling over the many ways “newbies” confess to being pushed beyond their comfort zones:  eating grasshoppers as a seasonal delicacy; participating in vibrant church services exceeding four hours; navigating treacherous Kampala (the capital) traffic with thousands of vehicles and few road rules; sweating through days of work with no air conditioning; and extravagant demonstrations of Christian faithfulness.  These “comfort zones” are usually defined with possessives: my, mine or our.

Yes, more and more we identify comfort as a state of personal entitlement and are disenchanted with those who make us uncomfortable.  Think of college campuses where students must have safe zones and where topics that trigger angst among fragile students are to be avoided at all costs.  Even in public discourse, we tend to shy away from anything that challenges our status quo or that would cause us to entertain new or unpleasant viewpoints.  Political correctness is the order of the day with the exception that PC goes only one way; dissenters are labeled with phobias or worse.  So much for comfort…

A cursory glance at a Bible concordance listing God’s view of comfort mostly flips our selfish comfort on its head.  God speaks of comfort residing in him (Isa. 61:2), in his forgiveness (Isa. 40:2), in his touch (Luke 8:48), in the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31), in the Word (Romans 15:4), and so on. It’s all about him.   Comfort resides in being surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, his will, and his glory.  It’s not about us.

What an excellent opportunity we have during the holidays to enjoy the comfort of our Father as he guides us through the minefields of difficult relations, command performances, mandatory attendance, last-minute shopping, and all the other aspects of Western Christmas traditions.  Will we retreat to the need for safe spaces rather than moving into God’s grace as we encounter people and events that are not of our choosing?  Will we avoid those annoyances that typically ruffle our feathers or will we see how God’s comfort can stretch us to move in his love and Spirit and out of our egocentricity?

May God’s Spirit constantly provoke us each time we begin to say, “I’m not comfortable with…” or “I’m only comfortable when…”   Seems like a great gift this Christmas time would be to get us all out of our comfort zones and into God’s comfort.

 

Father, thank you for your infinite patience with us.  Grace us to trust you in all circumstances.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

THE CROWD I CAN’T WAIT TO BE STUCK IN

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  Revelation 7:9

I have the privilege of working with courageous missioners who have joyously given their lives to share Jesus with people around the world.  George and his family have served Christ in the Philippines for many years and recently sent me this beautiful reflection.  He gave me permission to use it here:

I live in a very crowded city, Manila, the densest city in the world. What would normally be a 15 minute drive in the USA can take up to 6 hours here on account of so many cars. People get irritated, and it’s hot.

All around me are represented the 180 or so languages that exist in the Philippines. One day there will be people from every one of these languages standing among the great multitude, offering praise in their language (tongue) to our Father. That is why I came here, to be stuck in this crowd for now so that one day they can join us before the Father in a much bigger crowd and with way more than 180 languages praising God.

On that day, we won’t be irritated at the tightness of the crowd but will rejoice that we have all been forgiven, redeemed, and can stand in his glory before the throne. I think I will stand in the Filipino section.

 

Heavenly Father, I thank you for all your devoted servants around the world who share you gladly in word and in deed.  Thank you for calling each one of us to service in your Kingdom.  AMEN.