Struggling with Comfort

Close your eyes. Picture a scene of tranquility, where your biggest worry is whether the waiter is going to remember the virgin strawberry daiquiri you ordered 10 minutes ago. You are on a beach in the Bahamas, about four miles from the cruise that brought you there. No one is going to hurt you, and everyone wants to help you find your way. The best part is this: since you have been working so hard at the high-paying job you have, your boss has told you to go on vacation, all expenses paid for.

This is the ultimate dream vacation, correct?

Today, when we think about the life and eventual death of Jesus, we usually envision one of two things: the birth of Jesus and the death of Jesus. This is not to discount the years in between, or even to insinuate people do not put much thought into the "middle years" of Jesus, but the most celebrated times were that of Jesus' birth and death.

Specifically, Jesus' death is symbolic of not only our status' as saved souls, but the pain he went through to get there; yet, the latter is not simply a reason to be inspired by the heroism that our Savior characterizes, but also to teach us how to be human.

Luke 9:23 says, "Then [Jesus] said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Jesus was following through with his Father's direction, and Jesus followed them just as we should follow God's direction for us. Matthew 7:21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Our mission in this temporary existence is to do the will of the Lord, which is to "deny [yourself] and take up [your] cross daily."

Is it comfortable to deny oneself? Is it in any way enjoyable to take up the symbolic cross? Jesus was brutally beaten, mocked, humiliated, spit upon, and physically destroyed by the stubborn and vile hearts of the sinners. It seemed as though sin had conquered God's son. Now, Jesus commands us to carry our cross like he did?

Well, it might not sound comforting to be mocked and humiliated both physically and emotionally, but here is comforting news, and it comes in a parable:

Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field" (Matthew 13:44 NIV).

Using this parable, Jesus puts the kingdom of heaven in terms that humans can relate to. When it comes to some of the things we possess, we do very similar things like the man in the parable. We are willing to be mocked for the things we love, we claim we would take the bullet for our children, and we spend countless hours on things that matter to us. As a result, we are willing to be put to the test to prove how devoted we are to our possessions.

If we love God and want to serve him, it will show. Our comfort is in him; our hope is to be true to God and nothing else. Our wealth does not matter, our health does not matter, and our possessions do not matter. In the grand scheme of things, we are here on earth to glorify God and allow him to take care of the rest. St. Augustine, from his book Confessions, asserts that "our blessing is to know that [God is] in control." Our security and safety is in the Lord, so wherever he takes us, we can take comfort in the fact that our physical bodies can take any beating it can, only if it does not interfere with our hope in him.

Take comfort in the Lord, for he is the only treasure that is worth investing in. Once you maintain that treasure, protect it in every circumstance, for it is your lifeline. Fall back on the Lord, and he will "give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4 NIV). You may try to convince yourself that you will find your own desires, but take delight in the Lord, and he will make your real desires known to you.

After all, He made you, and He knows what is best, even if it may seem uncomfortable at first glance.

A Moment of Silence, Please?

The sound of a distant train. The crunching of pebbles. The quiet breeze blowing. The empty mind letting silence do the talking.


Quiet.


In our world, it is quite daring to climb over the wall that separates noise and silence. The idea of shutting up and letting silence speak the words we need to hear seems to take a lot of strength to do. We never get used to the busy life, but somehow we find ourselves attracted to it. Either we feel attracted to it or we feel slowing down will only remove us from any consistency, comfort, or necessity we need to survive. Take any man's career, for example. The man toils and labors nonstop, just to spend the income on things he needs to live; and it does not stop. Everybody goes round and round, never stopping to think to let peace and quiet fill the mind.
It is an interesting presence, silence. Sometimes, we need to shut up and let the Lord speak to us. Even when we are not verbally making noise, the world supplies the noise we are forced to partake in. Everyday, we are dragged out of bed whether we want to or not, feeling the pressure of spending the day productively. When we are silent, letting the whispers of outside noise appease our scattered minds, we find peace; we find God.
How many times do you think about the ground you walk on? How often do you consider the simplicity of the   grass and the complexity of our DNA? What about the sun? Or the infinite stars in the sky?
All of these things can remind us of God's mysterious beauty if we let silence run its course.
So, please, do shut up and let silence do the talking. Let God tell you something you would only hear if you remove yourself from the busy schedule demanded of you. There is something beautiful about that silence, so make time for some silence - maybe check out this video.

Enough is Enough

A little bit more... a little bit more... a little bit more. We are never satisfied. We are always searching for more, making our ability to be content one of our biggest weaknesses. Once we feel content, we find ourselves comparing to others who "appear" to have more.When we feel we don't have enough, we want more; we get some, and hope we can receive more. We go on and on, never recovering from this problem with material possessions.
But the baby wasn't born yesterday. The Israelite community struggled with this when the Manna reigned down from the heavens. Exodus 16:15 mentions Moses telling the Israelites to 'gather as much as they need,' and nothing more. Verse 18 says, "the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed." In other words, every had just enough. The people gathered everyday, and everyday grabbing just enough. However, the seventh day rolled around and God specifically commanded the Israelites to hold off on the Manna. Yet, despite God resting on the seventh day, the people still went out looking for Manna. They found none, for Moses had specifically told them no Manna would be in sight (v. 26). Sadly, the Israelites thought of themselves and what they thought they needed.
But let's backtrack. Each day the Israelites collected the Manna, they could not save it for the next day. Despite Moses' command to not save it, some of the Israelites still tried to save it, only to find out the manna would be rotten, full of maggots, and inedible. The Israelites wanted to save their Manna in order to have more enough, and God reminded them that just enough is perfectly enough.
Aren't we just like the Israelites? Aren't we always desiring more? In the New Testament (Luke 3), John proclaims to the crowd he is about to baptize how they can avoid the wrath of God. When the tax collectors asked John, he replied, "Don't collect any more than you are required to (v. 13)."
God provides us more than enough, but so often we are unsatisfied and lose the content spirit we are called to have (read Hebrews 13:5). All you need is God, and his presence is near to you; He promises he will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrew 13:5). However, destruction will come your way if you try to search for something or someone more satisfying.
The Lord is enough. Be satisfied in Him, and always remember that God knows exactly what you need, and He will supply it as water supplies life for a plant (Matthew 6:25-30).