Obedience Calls Us Out of Comfort

Obedience and comfort. Two trigger words in today’s western culture.

The word “obedience” brings about triggers of “You will NOT control me.” And “comfort” says, “Let me live unruffled, without pain, without discomfort.”

We want neither to be obedient to anyone nor discomfort from anything.

We want Christianity and salvation without hardships and persecution. We want glory and honor, mercy and forgiveness, maturity and knowledge without refinement and purifying.

We want comfortable Christian lives.

Yet, as Christ followers, obedience calls us from our comfort. It calls us from complacency. Obedience moves us from just absorbing and reading Truth to LIVING Truth and doing what it says. (James 1:22)

Obedience is placing our desires and laying them at the feet of Jesus, allowing Him to shape and mold our hearts to reflect His.

Obedience and living a comfortable life with our “self” at the center of our world will never produce a rich harvest of Christ followers.

Obedience is hard. Why? Because it requires discipline and course correcting by the Holy Spirit. And when we live a life led by the Holy Spirit, our “flesh” and “serve me” portion of our lives begin to be refined. It’s a stripping of the old self to be clothed with God’s righteousness, with His goodness, with His attributes.

Obedience is good. Refining. Purifying.

Obedience is a life lived in abundance by the Holy Spirit.

And living a disciplined life moves us from comfort, albeit boring Christianity, to an incredible and exciting life when walking in an obedient life led by the Holy Spirit.

Scripture Reading (Dont’ just take my word for it):
Hebrews 12:4-11, Philippians 3:8-10, Romans 5:1-5, 8:1-15

Additional Reading:
Faith & Comfort Don’t Mix