“You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable!”

The words pierced my armor and shook my sensibilities. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable? Why would I ever want to do something like that? Yet, from the moment these words entered my ears they haunted me with their truth; something inside me needed to find a way to ‘get comfortable with being uncomfortable.'”

Since that day - now nearly 15 years ago - I’ve come to believe that getting ‘comfortable with being uncomfortable’ is mostly an issue of trust: that I’ll be ok, life will be ok that my loved ones and future and marriage and bank account will all be ok if only because God is faithful. I can choose to trust that the future - though likely very different - will also be good.

This ‘comfort with discomfort’ also has a lot to do with Christian discipleship, accepting Jesus’ invitation to follow, learn, grow, try, and risk placing our lives firmly in God’s hands. It’s fascinating to me that when Jesus invited his disciples to travel with him he never offered terms, made promises, or negotiated contingencies. He merely said, “Come, follow me.” And those who accepted his invitation launched out on a journey of a lifetime.

Good things come to those who trust. Horizons expand, relationships grow, learning occurs, and growth becomes a way of life. And, of all the invitations Jesus offers, perhaps the invitation to grow is the most consistent. As we engage this week’s devotionals and read these passages, perhaps we can ask ourselves if there is an invitation to growth, to trust, to getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.