Nothing Else ~ Cody Carnes
Comfortable has two sides. The first is a Valley
of Struggle, where you wait for God to move a mountain. But after months and
years of waiting, you get comfortable in your pain or mess, assuming God
won’t change it. The second is a Land of Enjoyment, where you give and serve a
little, but not inconveniently. You’ve heard of the Valley of Struggle, but don’t
want to give up your comfortable lifestyle, so you try to drown out the feeling
that it’s not all about your comfort. You argue your case: Why do I have to
be the one who’s uncomfortable? What about my comfort? Though you feel justified,
you don’t have peace.
I was at a Bible Study when God first challenged my
comfort, asking me to give away a railroad nail I carried. I got it five years earlier,
during a sermon on forgiveness. God wanted another girl to have it, so she’d
feel the same freedom I’d received. I argued my case, asking God why it had to
be my nail. I was 23 when God asked me to give away that nail. Today,
God continues to draw me out of my comfort-zone. Most recently when I asked
God, “why,” He whispered, “As soon as you get too comfortable, you stop
growing.”
Jesus said that He didn’t come to be served – to be
comfortable – but to serve, setting aside His comfort to reach a world that
needed the comfort of the Father, (Matthew 20:28). Uncomfortable could
mean taking your elderly neighbor to get his hair cut, serving food to the
homeless, praying with your co-worker, reaching out to an estranged loved one,
or giving away your nail so another can feel the freedom of forgiveness. Giving
up a little comfort looks like being the hands and feet of Jesus. Maybe God will
take the little comfort you gave up and give a whole lot of comfort to someone
in a Valley of Struggle.
‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty
and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ‘I was naked and
you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to
Me.’ … ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of
the least of these My brethren, you did it
to Me.’ ~ Matthew 25:35-36, 40 NKJV
©Heather Potts 2020
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