Heart Matters

“Therefore , my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 15:58

I can’t think of many people who actually like being uncomfortable.  Most of us are always working to ensure our comfort-through our finances, our health, and our environment.  In fact some are so consumed with their own comfort they obsess over it  by trying to control every single detail of their life. I have to admit I’m a lover of comfort.  For me that translates mainly into living in a nice environment and being able to do what I plan to do each day.  As such, there was a time in my life whenever someone asked me to do something for them, the first thing I thought about was how it was going to inconvenience me.  I rarely said no, but the more the request took away from my comfort, the more I resented serving (and the more I complained).

Comfort is such a natural desire that it’s understandable that most wouldn’t stop for a second to think of guarding their hearts against it.  And yet the quest for comfort is like one of those subtle little foxes that sneak in under the radar and rob us of something very valuable.  Our preoccupation with the reasonable expectation of living comfortably ends up confining and enslaving us.  It’s an insatiable desire of sorts-its obtainable, however, once we have a certain measure of comfort, we either spend all our time fighting to keep it or endeavoring to reach an even greater level of comfort. People work hard all their lives so that they can retire comfortably.

However the areas of our greatest needs are the areas that can present the greatest threat to us.  The things we believe we deserve are the things we can become fixated with obtaining.  The things we feel we need are the things that can cause us to compromise our values to attain. Our comfort is important to us and rightfully so, but if we’re not careful, securing our comfort can cause us to sacrifice our call.  Therefore even this reasonable desire for comfort must be taken captive to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  HE alone can keep both our needs and our wants in perfect balance.  And He’s the only One who can make sure that our own comfort never precedes our call in HIM. 

Have you ever considered that Christ’s call on your life will involve moving you out into some uncomfortable places?  Perhaps this is the reason we so highly esteem those who have answered the call to go out into the mission field.  It often means leaving the comfort of their home, extended family, and the security of all that’s familiar to them. Yes, we have great admiration for missionaries – those who have given up so much for the cause of Christ.  However most of us are also relieved that we have been spared such a calling. Even when we decide to get serious about fulfilling our call in Christ, we have our limitations and our boundaries-all to protect the level of our comfort.

However, as I read the Word of God I can’t help but notice that discomfort is an ever present component of those who were greatly used of God.  Someone once said “Its rarely The Lord uses a man greatly, whom He hasn’t first called to greatly suffer.”  Since most of us don’t feel called to sell all our possessions to go live in a far away land, we seldom envision any form of suffering or discomfort to be a part of God’s will for our lives.  We conveniently forget that God’s ways are not our ways, that His ways are so much higher (Isaiah 55: 8-9).  So why wouldn’t the Lord call us into some peculiar places that will challenge us to trust Him and cause us to experience His love and care for us even more?

God uses the uncomfortable places to test us, to refine us, to prepare us, and to reveal even more of Himself to us.  I figured out pretty early on in my walk with the Lord that I was called to women’s ministry.  Although I had no idea what that would look like or when it would happen, I knew one day it would be the area I’d serve in.  God had given me a serious passion for seeing women grow in the faith and have victory in their walk with the Lord.  So you would’ve thought I would have been excited when my pastor in Calgary approached me about leading the Fellowship Ministry of the church.  (Well I wasn’t!)

My pastor came to me one day and said “I often see your interaction with the other ladies and how they respond to you and I believe you’d be great heading up the fellowship ministry!” I was a bit interested at first, that is, until I clarified just what the “fellowship ministry” was.  The best way for me to describe it would be to call it a “kitchen/serving ministry”.  This ministry indeed facilitated fellowship among the church members, but I wouldn’t get to be a part of that fellowship because my job would be behind the scenes. While everyone else was out there fellowshipping, I’d be in the kitchen churning out the refreshments and coffee (every Sunday after service) or ensuring that all  the food was ready for whatever special event we were having.  I’d also have to make sure everything was cleaned and put up properly afterwards.  It was a kitchen ministry!  Here he was asking me-a woman who doesn’t like to cook, who had never even given a dinner party-to run the kitchen for the church! I couldn’t believe I was even being approached about it.  I shared my concerns with my pastor and tried to present my case as to why the role wouldn’t be a good fit for me-but then he went and asked me to pray about it.  He told me he had been praying and he was sure that I was the person the Lord wanted in the position.

Well I prayed and the Lord confirmed that he was calling me to this service.  So I begrudgingly accepted.  I didn’t enjoy the training and I was angry about all of my new responsibilities.  I had to take inventory, shop to keep the kitchen stocked, recruit volunteers for clean up, coordinate an ongoing schedule, budget for the year, and present quarterly ministry reports. It was a lot but it really wasn’t too difficult.  There were two components about the role that made me miserable.  One, it was a lonely job.  I did most of it by myself.  I remember going to the food warehouse to buy the bulk items I needed. The place was dismal and cold and I always felt sad being there by myself.  But what I despised about it most of all was having to develop menu’s and cook and prepare meals for close to 350 people for our special events.  My family consists of 4 people!  How in the world could I know how many pounds of ground beef I needed to feed 350 people?!  You talk about uncomfortable!  As soon as I realized I needed to start planning for an upcoming event, I felt like I was on pins and needles.  I was uncomfortable and I wanted out!  But I knew God had called me to it so I stuck with it.

It  didn’t take long for me to see how awesome God is in those uncomfortable places. He always showed up by leading me to all the resources I needed.  The menu would just pop into my head and then I’d run into a church member who cooked all the meals for the youth group activities (I couldn’t understand for the life of me why she wasn’t the one doing my job). Without fail she’d ask me what I was planning to cook and then she would proceed to tell me how much I needed of what and the best place to find it! She also gave me a conversion chart so I could know the amounts of certain items I needed. Every event I was responsible for, the Lord was right there with me!  The planning, preparation, and presentation would always go smoothly-all because of HIM!

As a result I became more and more comfortable serving in that role.  God even graciously allowed me to have one part of the job that I truly enjoyed. I loved creating the event themes, finding the decor, and decorating!  Volunteering as the Kitchen-I mean Fellowship lead wasn’t all bad!

Now I have to say when we found out we were moving back to the states I was so relieved to know I’d no longer have that responsibility.  Before I left the Lord put it on my heart to submit a proposal to reconstruct the ministry.  There was a lot to it and I didn’t want my replacement to experience the loneliness I felt.  So I suggested the Fellowship ministry become 2 teams-an event planning/decorating team and a preparation/serving team (each team with a team lead).  During my time of service there, through the volunteers I recruited, I noticed there were ladies there who absolutely loved cooking and serving as well as those who loved to plan and be creative.  I believe the Lord loves seeing us using our gifts to serve Him.  However even then He will still orchestrate uncomfortable circumstances for our good and for His glory.

I recently finished reading the book of Daniel.  It struck me that Daniel had a great call on his life.  The Lord called him while he was a teenager taken into captivity with his people by the Babylonian empire.  His selection as a candidate to be groomed to become a part of the king’s counsel seems to suggest He was also made a eunuch.  If you’ve read the book you know Daniel’s call involved having visions and interpreting dreams.  It was indeed a high call to declare the glory of God.  But it wasn’t without it’s challenges. I couldn’t help but notice how while serving God, in the manner he was called to do so, Daniel found himself in some very uncomfortable places:

*Daniel was called to not only interpret king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, but also to first tell him what the dream was.  Failure to do so would lead to the king proceeding with his declaration to cut all his wise men into pieces-including Daniel.

*Daniel was called to interpret another of the king’s dream in which he had to tell him that if he didn’t humble himself before God, God was going to temporarily take his kingdom away from him and cause him to live with the beast of the field.

*Daniel was called to tell the king (Nebudchadnezzar’s son) that the handwriting on the wall was God’s declaration that He had “numbered his kingdom and finished it.”

Although the king had the earthly power to order Daniel’s death at any time, Daniel never let it cause him to compromise.  Daniel always told them the truth even if that truth was something they wouldn’t want to hear.

*Daniel’s envious and manipulative counterparts successfully had him thrown into a lion’s den.

Daniel found himself in uncomfortable places but he had to be comforted by the fact that God was with him.

*Daniel was given visions of the future that: grieved and greatly troubled him; changed his countenance; caused him to faint and made him sick for days; caused him to mourn and fast for weeks at a time.

*Daniels encounters with “a certain man” (more than likely the pre-incarnate Christ) left him breathless.  Daniel said he was left without any strength and his face turned towards the ground.

Daniels’ call brought him into some uncomfortable places.  However I’m sure he wouldn’t take back not one of those experiences even if he could.  It was in those places that He experienced God.  It was in those circumstances that the Holy Spirit in him worked the way He desired to through him. Daniel was able to glorify God in some serious situations.

In the beginning of being called to serve as the Fellowship Ministry lead I asked God over and over again-why would you call me to do this?!!  Well I’m so glad the Lord wasn’t the least bit shaken by my complaints.  He knew I needed to learn to serve with the right heart even though I wasn’t serving in an area my heart was passionate about. He knew I needed to learn to trust Him every step of the way and for every single detail.  And He knew that every time I had to plan an event and He let all the steps fall into place, I’d see just how much He cared for me.  In that uncomfortable job for HIM I experienced Him in ways I would have never imagine.  I was able to do a job for the Lord that I didn’t think I could possibly do.  I learned that I can do any job the Lord calls me to because He will equip and bless me to do it.  I learned I could trust the outcome to HIM every time!

The Lord uses the uncomfortable places of our call to confirm His call on our lives.  When the discomfort causes us to feel like we’re at our wits end and can’t go on another day-God shows up and strengthens us.  When the discomfort causes us to fear because of our inadequacies-we’re forced to rely on God.  When the discomfort comes from the rejection of man or the threat of persecution-we’re forced to trust God.  When the discomfort comes from not knowing what the outcome of our ministry will be-we’re forced to rest in God. HE’s there more than ever when we are uncomfortable because we’ve been called.

Has God called you into an uncomfortable place that you would have never chosen for yourself?  If so are you wrestling against it or are you resting in God? Are you willing to be uncomfortable for the cause of Christ?  Remember, if your discomfort leads to the salvation of just one soul it will all be worth it!

Let The LORD speak this to your heart: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2nd Timothy 2:3

HEART TO HEART:  GOD NEVER CALLS US OUT INTO AN UNCOMFORTABLE PLACE AND THEN FORSAKE US; IT IS IN THAT PLACE THAT WE GET TO EXPERIENCE HIM EVEN MORE!