Comfort?

This week has been nothing short of interesting. From Sunday to Saturday the whole week has been full of surprises. At school, assignments got the best of me, chapel services were shocking, and friends were troubled. One of my friends, in fact, had serious spine surgery. So this week has taken me by surprise and I am not sure how to handle these events. I accidentally misused some routine medicine that ended up blistering my lips, and that has definitely put me into a state of discomfort.

I have realized how fragile life can be. Small changes can really screw things up, and mind you that I am talking about little things. Things that 10 years from now I won't remember. It makes me think about how, too often, I am completely comfortable in my life. I am rarely uncomfortable, that's why when I am it seems like such a big deal.

But Christ felt such discomfort many times in His life. Sometimes I forget about verses such as "Jesus wept." He was absolutely positively 100% God, but He was also 100% man. He was hungry, He was tired, He was beaten, He was killed. If I totaled up all the discomfort and pain in my life it could never compare to the life Jesus lived for us. But I know that the future will hold more discomfort, until i am so joyfully united with Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1:5 says;

"For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,

 so also our comfort abounds through Christ."

We are told in this verse that sufferings are and will be abundant. In our lives a Christians (who take up our crosses daily) we will be part of Christ's sufferings more often than not. But we can be assured through the sufferings, we will also receive comfort beyond comparison in God's arms. Because as abundant as sufferings are, so much more are the boundless graces and comfort of God.

So as I look back over this week, I know that these "sufferings" give me a greater sense of peace in God. And that is absolutely true the more I focus on God instead of myself. Challenge yourself to pray to God about your problems more than you tell your friends about them. Focus on God, how He is our strength and our shelter; how God will fight for you, you only need to be still. (Exodus 14:14); how He will never allow you to be overtaken, the fire of this world will never set you ablaze (Isaiah 43:2). We can be sure of the strength and love of our God.

Weekly Challenge: Find some way to make yourself uncomfortable in your life. Go volunteer after work/school/whatever. Skip a meal and use that money to buy one for the homeless, do something to advance God's Kingdom. Have a great week!