Comfy?

Are you comfortable?

T.V. ads and society certainly tells us we should be. But the Word of God paints a different picture.

We'll start, if course, in the beginning. Adam and Eve lived in paradise, the Garden of Eden. They knew what true fellowship with God was, the walked with Him and talked freely with Him. Then they sinned(Genesis 2-3). They were then cast out of the Garden. Adam now had to work, he had to cultivate the land to try to produce food for his family. He would spend his life toiling and trying to find God(Genesis 3:17-19). Eve was cursed with the pain of childbirth (trust me....uncomfortable). She also had to now learn to live with Adam as her master and not just her mate. The problem here is that instead of the unparalleled bliss and blessings that come with her desire for Adam and his headship over her, there would now be anguish and trouble. So, one of the first reasons we live uncomfortably is sin, it's the barrier between us and God.

Almost every other "big" name in the Old Testament dealt with being uncomfortable. Abraham wandered as a nomad because God called him to leave his country, his relatives and his fathers house to go to an uncertain place that God had for him (Genesis 12:1-3). Moses was called out of his life of luxury to share in tthe sufferings of his fellow Hebrews (Exodus 3). God also asked Moses to speak to the Pharoah on Gods' behalf and he felt he was not good enough (Exodus 4:10-17). Joshua had to fight many battles against armies much bigger and better than his, with nothing but his faith in God to lead him (Joshua 10). Ruth left her country and her family to go with Naomi and follow Naomis' God (Ruth 1:16-18). Esther had to hide her Jewish heritage to keep from being killed by her husband, the king (Esther 8-15). Poor Job, there's not much that man didn't go through (I recommend reading the whole book of Job). Daniel was thrown into a lions' den (Daniel 6). Jonah was in the belly of a fish for 3 days (Jonah 1-4). There are so many more......

The point is....these were Gods' people, His chosen and loved people. And yet they faced these things. Why? For the glory of God, to show His sovereignity, power and unfailing love towards His people. In every instance, the impossible was done and all knew it was only God who could have done it. Sometimes we must go through difficult things to increase our faith and the faith of those around us.

But what about Jesus? Didn't he come to change things? Yes. he came to save us, offer us forgiveness and eternal life, to bridge the gap between us and our Father. But he did NOT come to make everything easy and confortable. In fact, Jesus said, "Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace to the earth. No, I have come to bring a sword."(Matthew 10:34) Jesus' teachings and sayings were and still are so revolutionary and contrary to worldly life that He knew following him would mean rejection, loss of friends and family, loss of life for some and even just plain old being uncomfortable.

Look at the 12 disciples. When Jesus called them, they had to leave behind everything they knew, everything comfortable and secure. Can you imagine what they would have lost by not answering his call? If they would have decided to remain in their security and comfort? They would have missed the Messiah! They gave up their jobs, their families, their respect in the community (remember, these were good Jewish boys :). They were then thrown in the middle of controversy, insecurity and instability. There were people who wanted to kill them. I don't think any one of them would have traded the decision they made to follow Jesus. Peter was the only other person to ever walk on water!!! What if he had said, "No thanks, I'll stay in the boat, where it's safe."? He would have been an idiot! :) By deciding to take a step toward Jesus and away from being comfortable, he learned the power of Jesus and walked on water (Matthew 14:25-33). Pretty awesome, huh? Are you willing to leave behind comfort to step out on the water with Jesus? It's something to think about.

Jesus himself did not live a comfortable life. He was not born into a wealthy family with all sorts of luxury and privleges. He was born in a barn and laid in a manger (Luke 2:6). A pretty humble beginning for the Son of God. From his birth, there were those who wanted him dead (Matthew 2:13-18). As Jesus neared the beginning of his ministry, he was led into the desert for 40 days (with no food!) to be tempted by Satan. Any of you that have been persistently tempted by something knows how uncomfortable this is! Jesus was mocked (Matthew 27:27-31), people doubted who he was (Mark 3:1-6, Matthew 22:41-45). He reached out and physically touched those that were in need of healing (which was unheard of in those days), even those with leprosy (Luke 5:12-16). He was beaten beyond recognition (John 19:1-3, Mark 15:16-20, Matthew 27:67-68). In Roman times, flogging was so severe that most people did not survive it to see their crucifixions. Yet, Jesus endured this. Then the crucifixion, the pain of being nailed to the cross, the dehydration, still feeling the pain from the flogging. Then the cross is raised and our Christ slowly suffocates. Every minute that passes brings increased difficulty in taking even a small breath. But this isn't the worst of it. God, the Father must now turn his face from his Beloved Son. Jesus is so covered and so saturated with our sins that God must forsake him. Imagine the pain, the heartbreak that our Savior, the only spotless person to have ever walked this earth, must have felt as he took our punishment (Matthew 27:46). This is what our Savior suffered for us. He came to earth just for this moment, the excruciating, painful moment.

If Jesus, the Son of God, sacrificed so much and walked through so many uncomfortable situations, what makes us think that we will breeze through life? What makes us think that we will or should be comfortable? Jesus warned us 2000 years ago that if we chose to follow him that things would not be easy (Matthew 10:28-39, Matthew 17:24-28, Mark 10:35-45, Luke 12:1-12, John 17:6-26).

God promised he would never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6), to never give us more than we could bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), to always do what is best for us (Luke 11:13), and to be continually transforming us into the image of his Son (Galatians 5:24-25). He did NOT promise us that we would be comfortable.

So, are you ready to take a step out of the boat towards Jesus? Are you ready to forsake comfort and stability for the awesome power, joy and peace of our God? In every instance that we have looked at, the rewards far outweighed the uncomfortable circumstance. Faith was strengthened, joy and peace were felt and blessings beyond measure followed. Is it worth it to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost? There are eternal rewards, as well as the ones we recieve while here on earth. The Lord, our God has promised so much that our minds cannot comprehend it. We will face trials and there will be things we do not understand. But, incredibly, we get to walk the water with Jesus......

Can you hear him call "Come, and follow me"?

Learning to Dance In The Rain

Stormy seasons, low in spirit, downhearted, down in the dumps, hopeless.........



Above are some of the euphemisms we use for depression and we have to use euphemisms because we Christians don't get depressed. Almighty God sent Jesus to die on the cross for us...what in the world could we possibly be depressed about?!?



Almost 10% of Americans,18 and older, have a diagnosed depression disorder. Want to bet some of those are Christians? And I wonder how much higher that percentage would be if more Christians sought help for depression?



I will get of my soapbox now :) and get back to my blog!



I'm depressed....pretty much all the time. I have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. Something misfires in my brain and I have a tough time functioning without medication. It really ticks me off a lot....I know all that I have to be thankful for, all the reasons I have to smile every day....and I'm still depressed.



About 10 years ago, when I became a Christian I fell into the "Christians cannot be depressed" trap, the unspoken rule of churchgoers everywhere. I stopped taking my medication and believed that I would be ok because I was a Christian now......



I was most definitely NOT ok, not even a little bit. I was nasty, deep, dark, in a pit depressed. I couldn't get out of bed, I couldn't take care of my self and I wanted to die. Very seriously not ok. And I didn't understand?????? Didn't I accept Christ? Didn't He love me? Wasn't I supposed to be all better and fixed up now? Some nice, kind people in the church told me that "I just needed a little more faith"...okie dokie, sprinkle some of that in there with the "church folk aren't depressed" and I should be alrighty! Or NOT. I was told "we all have our crosses to bear"...."God's ways aren't our ways".....and my personal favorite (sounds a lot like Jobs' friends) "What sin are you not confessing?"



So.....I had my answer! I needed to get happy, get some more faith, shoulder up my cross, understand God's ways are His own and start making up sins to confess (because I was pretty sure I had confessed mine already). That folks, is the anti-depression plan :)(sarcasm inserted here)



Through some pretty serious soul searching and tear-riddled conversations with God, I really did find my answer....2 of them, in fact:



1. I needed to take my medication. Every single day, without fail. Much like a diabetic needs insulin....I need an anti-depressant. A diabetic can die without insulin......I had to realize that I could die without my anti-depressant. God and I had long conversations about this :) I questioned Him and didn't really understand. Couldn't He just make me perfect, take out the depression defect? Yes...He could...but then I wouldn't get to learn #2.



2. Learn to dance in the rain.....learn to praise Him no matter what. Over and over in the bible, people prayed to God for rain, because it gave new life and caused things to grow. And they praised Him in those storms, right in the middle of them! You don't have to wait for the storm to pass, you don't have to sit by, doing nothing, being depressed or angry.......dance with Him in the rain!



When Jesus was out on the water in the storm and called Peter out to Him, what do you think would have happened if Peter danced his way across the water? He wouldn't have fallen in, I think. Eyes upon Jesus, dancing in the new life the storm brings, Peter could have walked anywhere he wanted. But he didn't and he began to sink.



I don't like being depressed, I really truly don't. There is not a whole lot I can do about the way I feel (the depression) but I can do A LOT about how I choose to react to it. I can go boohoo in a corner by myself, isolating myself and making it worse OR I can dance. If any of you have seen Evan Almighty, there is a scene at the end where he does the happy dance with God.....I cry every time I watch that scene (ask my husband, I really do) because I want to do the happy dance with God.

And I do, every day :)