Tea
Around the World
NW
Church May 27, 2018
“Getting
Comfortable Being Uncomfortable”
Let us pray!
Precious
Lord, you are so beautiful! May your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,
may we be found in the center of your will on this journey of life. Lord, we
ask only enough for what is needed today, no more, no less. Oh Lord, forgive,
please, please forgive us! And Lord, teach us how to forgive! In every
temptation, we ask that you provide a way of escape as you have promised. Lord,
help us trip over it, because we know temptation is, well, tempting! So Lord,
make that escape route a wide one. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and
the Glory forever and ever, Amen!
Today,
I am going to weave a talk around this idea of “Getting Comfortable Being
Uncomfortable.” We will look at Scripture and some central points of
application for takeaway. But you know what, sometimes the principles are
there, but what does that look like? We hear we are to take up our cross and
follow Jesus? But how do you do that? It is the application in our own lives
that sometimes alludes us. I am going to
share some out of my own life. I am going to get a little uncomfortable in an
honest way today, hopefully in such a way that you will be encouraged to get
comfortable being a little uncomfortable to step out in your own walk of faith.
Awhile
back I ran across a poem, actually it is a prayer. It so moved me and I have
been journaling and processing it for a little while. My talk today comes out
of those thoughts. I pray that maybe I can impart a word to you today that will
be of some encouragement in your life, your circumstances, your heart’s cry
today.
“Lord, help me to get more
comfortable being uncomfortable. More confident being uncertain. I don’t want
to shrink back just because something isn’t easy. Lord, widen my boundaries to
make room for the area in between I can’t and I can.”
The
reason it resonated with me so much, a year ago I took on the project of speaking
and fundraising in an answer to a call I felt very strongly – that I was to
return to Zimbabwe to the mission where I grew up and rebuild the medical
clinic for the people there. This feeling of being uncomfortable is exactly how
it has felt this last year taking on this project, stepping way out of my
comfort zone, trying to live in obedience to a calling from God. If you want to
talk another time, how do you discern God’s will, what does a calling look
like? I would be happy to do that but for our purposes today just trust me,
there was no doubt that I was called to do this and it was confirmed over and
over. I am happy to report a year later, it has been successful and successful
in a short amount of time. Today there is a bright shiny new medical clinic being
built at the fork of the Wanezi and Dine’ Rivers in Southern Zimbabwe. We were
just there a couple of months ago, the people are thrilled, they have been
loved on by us, by all of you who helped out, by my dear parents who never
forgot them…
It
is a wonderful story, but at the same time, and what I want to focus on today,
it has been a very uncomfortable time in my life. Once when I was having
some real anxiety, as in anxiety attacks about it, I asked my husband, Steve,
“what in the world have I gotten myself into.” He answered, “You’re doing what
God asked you to do.” Yes! Thank you! If God is behind it, I am privileged to
be part of it. Lord, help me to get more comfortable being uncomfortable.
After
finding the prayer and journaling about it, resonating with it for a while. I
have come up with 10 things to help us answer the question of Why? Why would I
want to become comfortable being uncomfortable?
1. You
grow!
Let’s face it, we would all like to stay
in that cushy sweet spot, right? But the problem with that… You don’t stretch
when you’re comfortable. If you are never stretching, you are never growing.
James
1:2 says:
“Consider
it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let
perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not
lacking anything.”
So,
as I was journaling and reflecting on being so uncomfortable this last year and
the idea that I may just have to get used to this feeling and serve the Lord
anyway, I asked myself….
Have
I grown in the last year?
Exponentially
yes!
Am I
still uncomfortable?
You
betcha!
Am I
still growing?
Yes!
2. You
learn obedience to God.
Do you know that song “Break
My Heart for What Breaks Yours.”? You cannot sing the words to that song if you
are not serious about going about the Lord’s business. I believe that is a
prayer the Lord loves to answer.
Take Jonah for example, a
not so good example for what happens to someone when they go the other way from
God’s instructions.
Jonah 1: 1-2 “The word of
the Lord came to Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it,
because its wickedness has come up
before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.
We all know what happened to
Jonah when he ran away from what God asked him to do, right? There are
consequences to disobedience and I don’t want to have to face them because that
is a fate worse than being a little uncomfortable.
Sometimes when you go the
other direction from God’s will or His truth, things could go much worse for
you! Personally, even though it has been uncomfortable sometimes, I’m sticking
with what I know God has asked me to do. I don’t want to risk the consequences
of being disobedient to God! As long as the Lord continues to lay this mission
on our hearts, my husband and I plan to go back every year to Zimbabwe and love
on the people.
I love this quote from
Francis Chan, “God interrupt whatever we are doing so that we can join in what
you are doing.” I don’t ever want to be outside of God’s will for my life.
Let your uncomfortable circumstances
mold you into an obedient heart! Lean into it! Ask God, what are you teaching
me today?
3. You
learn to pray.
I
love that quote, “you learn to pray by praying!” It’s a learned art. It’s one
of those things, you get into a circumstance that is totally outside of your
comfort zone and you can really learn to pray! I have several favorite Bible
passages that I have adapted through the years for prayers. One is out of the
book of Ruth. This one works especially at night when your mind is working so
fast so that you can’t get any sleep. My go to prayer is when Ruth goes to the
threshing floor and lays down at Boaz’ feet. She then says the sweetest words…
Ruth
3:9 “Cover me, spread the corner of your garment over me for you are
my kinsman redeemer.”
Ruth
and Boaz were a type, a picture of our relationship to Jesus. Jesus is our
kinsman redeemer. So I pray, “cover me Jesus!” when I am overwhelmed. Let your
discomfort drive you to the feet of Jesus in prayer!
4. You could
inspire someone by being vulnerable
When
you step out of your comfort zone and do what makes you uncomfortable, you
might just inspire others to do the same. Don’t be afraid to share your story.
When
I started this process of speaking and fundraising, I had to dig back into some
painful memories. My family and I had to leave suddenly, evacuate, because of
the revolutionary war in Zimbabwe in the late 70’s. It was traumatic. When we
left the mission, I started crying and couldn’t stop, you know, the kind of
hyperventilating crying when you can’t catch your breath. I struggled with PTSD
and nightmares for a long time. I lost weight and would spiral into anxiety
attacks. So when I started sharing my story and saying I was going to go back
and love on the people and build a new medical clinic for them, I had to dip
deep down into some pretty vulnerable areas and share my story with
transparency and honesty. It was hugely uncomfortable for me to do that. But,
you know what, the feedback I got, it inspired a lot of people and they
responded to the need. As a result some very needy folks have a new clinic,
because I was willing to be vulnerable and tell my story. You never know who
needs to hear your story. So, get comfortable being vulnerable and be willing
to share.
5. You
learn discernment
There
are two pictures of water in the Bible that I want to look at briefly to
illustrate this point. One is when Jesus meets the woman at the well in John 4
and the other is in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 2:13
John
4:13 Jesus answered “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But
whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I
give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Jeremiah
2:13 “My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of
living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold
water.
Part
of discernment is learning the difference between digging broken cisterns vs.
going to the source of living water, Jesus. You see so many things that we
might turn to in life to assuage our feelings, to medicate our discomfort, they
are like that picture of being so thirsty but trying to dig for water in the
hot sand in the desert or trying to fill up a broken cistern. The one thing, at
least for me that tough times have done in my life, they have taught me
discernment for where to turn. I have learned to turn to the source of living
water, Jesus, my Lord and Savior, and not turn to the things that look like
they might be nice, but like a mirage, they will disappear and leave you even thirstier
than you were before. The tough times can teach you how to discern where to
turn.
6. You
learn to live a life that pleases God
Colossians 1:10 “Live a life
worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good
work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
Let difficult times shape
you into a person that pleases God. Live a life that God will reward. When I
come to the end of my life, I want to hear those words promised to us, “Well,
done, good and faithful servant! Enter into my joy!” Some translations say,
“Enter into my rest!”
7. Sometimes
you find healing
Let’s
be honest here, there are places that are very uncomfortable for us because we
have been hurt or wounded in some way. Sometimes we carry around that pain for
years or sometimes we bury it deep until something triggers it to surface
again.
Our
next Scripture is one that I truly cherish:
Isaiah
53:5 “By His wounds we are healed.”
When
someone asks the question, why didn’t God intervene in this or that
circumstance. Let me tell you, He did! He intervened when He allowed His son to
be nailed on the cross. By His wounds we are healed.
One
of my prayers in returning to Zimbabwe a few months ago was that the Lord would
heal that deep place inside of me that had been wounded. In my greeting to the
church at the mission where I grew up, I shared how we had stood in that same
spot forty years ago and said goodbye. When we left, people gathered around and
we all sang the song “Ave Nemwe Tionanezve” “God be with you till we meet
again.” After the church service was over the day we visited, suddenly I heard
someone in the back start to sing. I was so moved, they started to sing that
song, “Ave Nemwe Tionianezve”, the prompting by God’s Holy Spirit and the
kindness of that person who started the song… something very deep inside of me
was touched in a healing way. God had been with them and he had been with me
till we met again! It was beautiful and I am forever grateful.
Which
leads me to my next point:
8. You
learn gratitude
This
is what I wrote in my journal the night before we left on our trip to Zimbabwe.
Dated February 18, 2018 “Last night when I fell asleep, I just thanked the Lord
over and over, that’s all I prayed. Thank you dearest Lord for loving me and
giving me the task to love on the people in Zimbabwe, especially that sweet
community of people who live at the fork of the Dine’ and Wanezi Rivers. They
thank you too, I think!” Then at the end of my journal I wrote, “Thank you
dearest Lord for your watchcare, for your tender gifts to us, for healing some
holes in my heart, for the folks who have supported this work and prayed for
us! Thank you Lord!”
Don’t
be like one of the nine lepers who after Jesus healed them, they went on their
merry way. Be like the one who returned and thanked Jesus. Let discomfort teach
you how to be grateful!
9. You
learn how to overcome fear
I
have come to believe that fear is one of the biggest tools that the enemy of
our souls uses against us. How many times are we held back by fear, or we have not done
something that we felt that we should because we were afraid? Fear itself is so
uncomfortable! The Scripture that I turn to over and over again when I am faced
with fear is:
2
Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of
love and of a sound mind.”
When
the enemy throws that most uncomfortable of feelings in your face, fear, just
quote this scripture to him and tell him to flee!
10. Remember,
it is only temporary
Yeah,
right! If I haven’t hit one of your hot buttons yet, this one will probably do
it. You’ve heard many times the adage, “What will this matter in 10 or 20
years?” Well, it matters right now and right now is what I am dealing with!
The
Scripture I am going to use for this point is:
2
Corinthians 4:17 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
Sometimes
you have to go through the worst to get to the best, be patient. Learn to
embrace the in between, the unsettledness, the discomfort, the uncertainty, the
heartache, the trials of this life! Think of it like an old friend, “oh, it’s
you again, I know you!” I made it through last time and I will do so again!
Recognize your improvements, track your progress. If I ruminate 15 minutes this
time instead of 3 hours, hey, I’m making progress. Realistically, probably more
like 1 day instead of three, right? Take pride that you have been able to
overcome. Once you embrace it, you will be surprised at what you will be able
to accomplish. And realize this, we all feel the same way from time to time.
I
Peter 1:6-7 says:
“In
all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven
genuineness of your faith – of great worth than gold, which perishes even
though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus
Christ is revealed.”
Take
courage from these words from the Apostle Peter.
In closing,
I want to give you a challenge. Probably one of the most uncomfortable things
to do is sharing your faith, sharing the gospel message with another person. My
challenge to you today is: will you step out of your comfort zone, will you
embrace the discomfort, will you commit to share your testimony with one other
person this week? If you have never entrusted your life to Jesus Christ and
accepted the living water that will quench the thirst in your soul, will you
step out of your comfort zone and ask someone, “will you help me?” How do I do
this? How do I give my life to Jesus?
So,
what’s the key? Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. Embrace it. You cannot
let fear dictate your life or hold you back. Once you embrace the fear, you will
be astounded at what you can accomplish!
As
a closing prayer, let’s say this together,
“Lord, help me to get more
comfortable being uncomfortable. More confident being uncertain. I don’t want
to shrink back just because something isn’t easy. Lord, widen my boundaries to
make room for the area in between I can’t and I can.”
Amen!
