COMFORT MUST FALL
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. Mark 8:34,35
It may seem odd to think of comfort as a giant—as something that taunts us and hurts our lives. We all desire to provide a safe environment for our family. We like to kick back at the end of the day with our shoes off and watch a fun show on TV. We like things to be orderly in our lives, not chaotic. None of these things are deadly in and of themselves. The trouble only arises when the desire for safety and security becomes the dominant theme of our lives.
In the story of David and Goliath, we see how this desire stymied the nation of Israel. The Israelites issued their battle cry every day. They got suited up and went to the front lines. They had God on their side. But for forty days they were prevented from moving forward by the lure of ease. Goliath would come out each morning, and the Israelites would say, “Not today. Too dangerous. Let’s stay in the tents where it’s safe.”
The picture we miss in the story is that David came on the scene and did in one day what the army of Israel hadn’t been able to do for a month and a half. Every day they had been wavering. Every day their comfort held them back. Every day the giant kept coming and coming and coming. Then David showed up and said, “This is nuts. This is going to end today.”
God wants you to likewise see beyond comfort and recognize there is something of eternal significance for you to contend against. He is calling you to a greater purpose that what mere comfort can provide. He wants to give you real influence. He wants you to walk in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. He wants you to step out in obedience to his will. He is inviting you today to gear up, rally around his battle cry, and engage the enemy.
Gaining the victory over the giant of comfort means answering this call. It means refusing to wait for “all the pieces to line up” before making a move. It means being willing to go in a direction that doesn’t feel familiar at first. It means understanding that what matters most is moving in God’s strength instead of your own. As soon as you grasp that, you’re ready for the battle. You’re ready to be put in the place where you can witness God’s deliverance.
Remember that faith thrives in discomfort. The cross brought pain to Jesus in the same breath that it brought freedom to you. It’s often easy to just sit back and decide to follow the example of another person’s life—to let someone else who is “called” to go and take the risk. But the reality is that God hasn’t called any of us to avoid the dangers of a lost and dying world. Instead, he has called us to enter into it with the sword of the Spirit in our hands. He wants us to say, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (John 9:4 NLT).
Your life on this earth is short . . . but God is big. So focus on matters of eternal significance while you are here. You live on a planet with billions of people who’ve never heard of Jesus. As a follower of Christ, you have the hope. You have the truth. You have the life. You have Jesus. That’s what matters: letting Jesus be known. So step into the fight in the name of Jesus!
Respond
On a scale of 0 to 5, how important is comfort to you? Why did you answer the way you did? How does your desire for comfort play itself out in your daily life?
Can you see any areas in which your desire for comfort is limiting what you might do for God? If so, what are those areas?
What might it look like for you to get out of your comfort zone in order to serve God in some way? How do you feel about that? How can you proclaim Jesus with your life?
*** Excerpt from the Devotional Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. Mark 8:34,35
It may seem odd to think of comfort as a giant—as something that taunts us and hurts our lives. We all desire to provide a safe environment for our family. We like to kick back at the end of the day with our shoes off and watch a fun show on TV. We like things to be orderly in our lives, not chaotic. None of these things are deadly in and of themselves. The trouble only arises when the desire for safety and security becomes the dominant theme of our lives.
In the story of David and Goliath, we see how this desire stymied the nation of Israel. The Israelites issued their battle cry every day. They got suited up and went to the front lines. They had God on their side. But for forty days they were prevented from moving forward by the lure of ease. Goliath would come out each morning, and the Israelites would say, “Not today. Too dangerous. Let’s stay in the tents where it’s safe.”
The picture we miss in the story is that David came on the scene and did in one day what the army of Israel hadn’t been able to do for a month and a half. Every day they had been wavering. Every day their comfort held them back. Every day the giant kept coming and coming and coming. Then David showed up and said, “This is nuts. This is going to end today.”
God wants you to likewise see beyond comfort and recognize there is something of eternal significance for you to contend against. He is calling you to a greater purpose that what mere comfort can provide. He wants to give you real influence. He wants you to walk in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. He wants you to step out in obedience to his will. He is inviting you today to gear up, rally around his battle cry, and engage the enemy.
Gaining the victory over the giant of comfort means answering this call. It means refusing to wait for “all the pieces to line up” before making a move. It means being willing to go in a direction that doesn’t feel familiar at first. It means understanding that what matters most is moving in God’s strength instead of your own. As soon as you grasp that, you’re ready for the battle. You’re ready to be put in the place where you can witness God’s deliverance.
Remember that faith thrives in discomfort. The cross brought pain to Jesus in the same breath that it brought freedom to you. It’s often easy to just sit back and decide to follow the example of another person’s life—to let someone else who is “called” to go and take the risk. But the reality is that God hasn’t called any of us to avoid the dangers of a lost and dying world. Instead, he has called us to enter into it with the sword of the Spirit in our hands. He wants us to say, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work” (John 9:4 NLT).
Your life on this earth is short . . . but God is big. So focus on matters of eternal significance while you are here. You live on a planet with billions of people who’ve never heard of Jesus. As a follower of Christ, you have the hope. You have the truth. You have the life. You have Jesus. That’s what matters: letting Jesus be known. So step into the fight in the name of Jesus!
Respond
On a scale of 0 to 5, how important is comfort to you? Why did you answer the way you did? How does your desire for comfort play itself out in your daily life?
Can you see any areas in which your desire for comfort is limiting what you might do for God? If so, what are those areas?
What might it look like for you to get out of your comfort zone in order to serve God in some way? How do you feel about that? How can you proclaim Jesus with your life?
*** Excerpt from the Devotional Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio.
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