In his book, Your Best Year Ever, Michael Hyatt talked about comfort being overrated.
“We think that if we had every comfort available, we’d be happy. We equate comfort with happiness. And now that we’re so comfortable, we’re miserable. There’s no struggle in our lives. No sense of adventure.”
Dean Karnazes
- Butterflies are beautiful because they struggle to emerge from the cocoon.
- Giraffes knock down their offspring each time they try to get up to help them learn to stand on their own.
- Young sapling trees enduring strong wind have deeper roots are stronger in the long run.
My friend Josh Eastin sent me a quote the other day that said, “we take people off the potter’s wheel too soon. We put a novice in the place of spiritual authority and they haven’t suffered enough.”
Facing challenges creates experiences that make up our lives. If we seek comfort without challenges, our lives will become mundane and miserable.
You can be courageous or you can be comfortable, but you can’t be both.
The goal of a comfortable life just doesn’t carry the punch. It doesn’t offer us an opportunity to grow and be stretched. It becomes so predictable, it’s not even fun.
So what does shooting for comfort look like?
It looks like not getting involved in situations you could make a difference.
It looks like hoarding your money and resources instead of living generously.
It looks like dragging your feet when its obvious God is moving you in a different direction.
It may be pulling back when your God given gifts could intersect with the church for a powerful impact.
It may be choosing what we know over the unknown, and what ultimately would make us grow.
So What Do I Do?
The phrase “move out of their comfort zone” is overused these days, but partly because it’s true. Shooting for comfort isn’t going to help you grow, make you happy, or help you live the adventure God has called you to.
If you’re taking comfort too seriously, then do something about it. Increase your involvement. Say yes to a church leadership position. Start a ministry. Mentor someone. Take someone into your home. Plant a church. Give lots of money away. Try something new. Go on a mission trip. Pick any one of a million things to take you a place of challenge and adventure.
Striving for comfort is overrated.
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