What if that uncomfortable situation in your life is exactly where Jesus wants to release his power? You’ve been running from discomfort for so long, avoiding any hint of awkward and unknown scenarios, that you now find yourself in a wilderness God never intended for you. You’re lonely, you’re bored, you’re unfulfilled, and honestly all this comfort is sucking the life out of you.
GOD WORKS IN THE UNCOMFORTABLE!
He will lead you to the smack dab middle of the most awkward situation where every alarm in your body is screaming ‘run’, and He will ask you to stay. He will allow the very thing you avoid to unfold, then ask you to wait for him here instead of run from it.
Where are you uncomfortable? What have you been desperately seeking to avoid, yet here it is in your face? Stay and let God do his work here.
It never fails, in the days leading up to one of our BIG Life Retreats, I start having nightmares of forgetting to feed people. It’s always the same crazy scenario, everyone is gathered in the retreat house, it’s meal time, and suddenly I realize I forgot to buy food. I wake up from my nightmare and add more food to my shopping list.
The disciples faced this uncomfortable scenario in real life. A crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children, had gathered to see Jesus. They stayed all day as Jesus taught them and healed their sick.
Matthew 14: 15-17 “As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
Awkward! It’s my nightmare in real life. A hungry crowd with no food. I avoid this scenario like the plague with my continual obsession of providing twice as much food as any group could ever eat.
If you read the account of John, another disciple who was there, he is clearly uncomfortable and not only counts the supply, but expresses those loaves of bread and fish were SMALL too. He’s freaking out, just like I would do. The need is way too big and the supply is way too small.
Are you facing an uncomfortable situation like this in your life right now? You have a need that is way too big for the way too little supply you have. You feel grossly insufficient. Way under-qualified. So ridiculously outside of your comfort zone your anxiety is through the roof and the fight or flight is kicking in, and all systems say FLIGHT. RUN. AVOID THIS. GET OUT OF HERE!
You are convinced you’re not enough. What you have is not enough. What you can do is not enough. And you’ve had enough.
But Jesus says, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
And what this means to you today, in your uncomfortable situation on your anxiety overload, is, you don’t need to run away from this! Jesus will work here if you will just use what you think isn’t enough.
What, you think Jesus was surprised by this uncomfortable situation? Do you honestly think he didn’t know in advance of this need that far outweighed the supply?
Honey, he not only allowed it to unfold, he led them head on into the discomfort! Why? So they could witness for themselves his power when things are uncomfortable.
So, you’re uncomfortable right now, huh? This is way outside of your comfort zone and what you really want to do is run away. IF GOD BROUGHT YOU HERE, STAY FOR A MINUTE.
Before you run again, breathe. Let God speak to you. Let him calm you. Let him show up and do impossible things for you here.
Yes, stay in the discomfort and allow God to do his work. He may just be working on the very breakthrough you’ve been seeking, but if you run, you will dismiss yourself from the goodness he has for you here.
Matthew 14: 18-20 “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”
The highly uncomfortable situation of a hungry crowd and a grossly insufficient supply of food, turned into a miracle with Jesus. And what if your uncomfortable situation, with all the things that are way outside of your comfort zone, is scheduled to turn into a miracle with Jesus? And what if you running away from it will dismiss you from the miracle?
What if God has planned to show you his power in your discomfort? What if he led you here, to this place where you don’t want to be, so he can show you the potential of where he will lead you next?
Will you trust him here? Will you trust him enough to stop running and avoiding, and look for what he is aligning for you?
You see, God not only provides enough for the uncomfortable situation, he provides MORE THAN ENOUGH. Honey, you will have leftovers if you stay right here and let him work. More than you could have ever imagined is what you get when you’re willing to stay in the discomfort with your way too little supply, and turn it over to Jesus.
Notice, what the disciples gathered after feeding the crowd of 5,000 men, plus women and children, was 12 basketfuls of broken pieces. All of this from just 2 small loaves and bread and 2 small fish!
How many disciples were there? 12. How many baskets were filled with leftovers? 12.
Once again, God working in the details to show each one of us, individually, his power in our personal circumstances. There’s a basket for you here on the other side of this uncomfortable situation. Stick around for it!
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