Many of the sermons I hear by tv preachers are saying that God's main desire is that we are comfortable. I find that hard to believe. This just isn't God's pattern.
Abraham would have been a whole lot more comfortable if he had stayed in the land of his father. God moved him to the land of Canaan which was his inheritance but the journey was far from comfortable.
Moses could have been a shepherd for the rest of his life but God called him to lead His people out of Egypt. It was a very difficult task which lasted a long time with a great deal of hardship. I believe Mosese would have been more comfortable doing what he was familiar with.
Daniel went to a lion's den, Elijah confronted a king and Paul was called to write most of the New Testament in prison. These examples do not scratch the surface of all those who have been called by God. Each one was called to leave his or her comfort zone to walk with God. Why should we believe that His main desire is that we are comfortable?
Rather, this is the pattern of someone who does not want to walk with God. It is the pattern of immaturity. It says that it only wants to hear the sermons on God's deliverance and not on God's judgement. It says that it only wants to hear the stories of Jesus and not those of Job. It is immature because it wants all cookies and candy but no vegetables.
God is not interested in our comfort it that comfort fails to bring us close to Him. He desires true fellowship with us rather than merely seeing us maintain a carefree lifestyle. He is like the parent who says that they want to give their child enough so that he can do anyhing but not so much that he can do nothing.
Let's face it: Even the struggles are good for us as long as they bring us closer to our Lord. God is not a one-dimensional person with a casual regard for us. He seeks to bring us to maturity. It takes the whole Word of God and the struggles and triumphs. It is interaction with the people who build us up and those who wish to tear us down. It is doing what we can do and working with us to do what we could never do. It is building faith through the daily walk which sometimes causes us to stumble and skin our knees.
It is interesting that many Christians do not see the flaws in trying to stay exactly where they are. They want to stay in the same location the rest of their lives without giving God permission to lead them to a new place. They want to read the same scriptures again and again rather than read the whole Bible. They want to believe in a God whose main desire is to make them comfortable. They want to remain childish all their lives.
We should embrace the challenges God places in our lives for we really can't call Him Lord if we do not go where He leads. We cannot truly grow properly as long as we lack the struggles. We just can't grow up on cookies and candy but no vegetables.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2 (ESV) 1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
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