Comfort vs. Obedience

Went to bed last night with this challenge on my mind: “Would you rather be comfortable or be obedient?” It has been a periodic question when plans were hitting a snag or roadblock since we left a very comfortable situation in Idaho. It was a question I believe God asked us before we made the move. To leave a very loving, caring body of friends and a wonderful pastor and church and much much more didn’t seem reasonable, especially at my age (71). Sensing it was God directing us to make the move, it was “obedience over comfort.” Then the roadblocks: the 4-wheeler accident that is still debilitatinng after nearly 5 months. The tussle with County Zoning to build a house on 10 of 54 acres. Some significant illness, in part stress related. Plus, greater s-s-speech and mobility challenges – all have contributed to some dark times. Anyone looking in from the outside would question our sanity about making the move. And it was again by a significant person. Thus, last night’s “do you want to be comfortable or be obedient” question – round umpteen. I was reminded by one of my favorate devotional writers, Os Hillman, about the value of “darkness.” He quotes Isaiah 45:3 "I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." “What we perceive as dark periods in our lives are designed to be treasures from God. They are actually riches stored in secret places. We cannot see those times in this light because of the often-accompanying pain or fear that prevents us from accepting these times as treasures. They have a particular purpose from God's viewpoint: "...so that you may know that I am the Lord...who summons you by name." “You see, unless we are cast into times in which we are completely at God's mercy for breakthroughs in our lives, we will never experience God's faithfulness in those areas. We will never know how personal He is, or that He can be trusted to meet the deepest needs in our lives. God wants each of us to know that we are "summoned by name." Every hair of our head is numbered. He knows every activity we are involved in. His love for you and me knows no bounds, and He will take every opportunity to demonstrate this to us.” Treasures we’ve seen thus far, are significant personal growth, some deep inner healing, and the joy of being close to part of our family. Did we make a mistake? At times it feels like it. But we don’t operate on feelings. WE believed it was God’s calling: love on and encourage your children and grandchildren. Obedience over comfort.