Today, I’m having an internal struggle.
We are at 30A on family vacation. Amanda and I have brought our youngest daughter and one of her best friends, and we have met up with my parents, which has been an annual tradition for many years. Our oldest daughter is awaiting a flight to the Dominican Republic with friends from UT Knoxville. It’s a week “off” for us all. It’s a week designed for comfort.
Yet, my internal struggle is that I am having a hard time relaxing and I am struggling to discover why. I awoke early and spent time talk to God in prayer, and now I am up, awake before everyone else to share what I believe I am hearing.
As a society, we seek comfort. We really never want to be outside our comfort zone. We want homes that are automated, and technology that does all the hard work for us. We want automobiles that heat and cool our butt, and feel burdened if our steering wheel does not have a heater on those cold mornings. Somehow, we believe we are entitled to the “good life.” For this reason, comfort is the enemy.
Comfort is the enemy IF we believe that living in comfort is the expected normal. It’s especially destructive if we believe that we are entitled to live in comfort, or if we are broken if we do not have comfort all the time.
From before the beginning of the foundations of the earth, I believe that God designed us in his image to be workers. I believe he designed us with specifics skills and his desire is for us to accept those gifts and use them to the benefit and society and to the benefit of his kingdom. He made us in his image, and he is a worker. He worked six days when he designed and created this wild world we live in. He’s at work today in this world as we battle to forces of good and evil. We probably have no idea how much he is advocating for us in this very moment, but the Bible shows us that God has always been a worker. All that said, God worked six days, but on the seventh day he rested. I have to believe his rest day was his day of comfort.
For this reason, I believe comfort is not only OK, but it is good. I do not expect it or believe I am entitled to it, but I accept it for this week with family. Here’s my take away though: Accepting comfort is good. Expecting comfort is not only bad, but I believe it is evil because I believe we are designed to be workers – producers, not just consumers. Hopefully we all find work that uses the gifts that God created us with, although that’s a challenge in and of itself.
When we walk with God, our work is not a burden, but our work is not comfort. Remember the ratio. God worked six days and he rested one. We all need to temper our expectations. Society leads us to believe that we are broken if we don’t live in comfort. The Word of God never says that. We all need to accept and cherish the blessings of God, including seasons of rest and comfort. That is good, but when we expect and pursue comfort 24/7, comfort is the enemy.
Reframe the way you look at your life. Contribute. Produce. Use your God given gifts. But for today, I will lean into time with my family and enjoy the blessings of a short season of comfort until I go back to the “real” world.