Killing Comfort but Gaining Peace

Lord, it seems there are seasons of life where You may seem far from us, but You make it very clear in Your Word that You will never forsake us or abandon us (Isaiah 54:10, Genesis 28:15, Matthew 28:20, Romans 8:38–39). You are present with us wherever we go and are always seeking to help us, but why do you feel so far away?

In my own experience, when I’ve been in seasons where You have felt far from me, I was truly the one who was far away. Whether it was pride, lack of trust, hurt, control, impatience, or busyness—there was something that needed to be checked in my heart so I could accept Your love and remain still in Your presence. I was asking a perfect and never changing God to adjust to me and my way of doing things.

I also know You don’t want us to remain spiritually immature infants (1 Corinthians 13:11–13, Hebrews 5:12–14). Your purpose is to mature us and grow us into believers with a firm foundation of truth. In those seasons I felt abandoned by You; I was embarrassingly immature in some regards, and I felt like the kid who runs away in the grocery store and ends up asking everyone if they’ve seen Mom. It’s truly agonizing to not be fully aware that your spirit is searching for God, but your soul (mind, will, emotions) and flesh are leading you any place but home. Awful, yes, but it forces us to address the things that stand in the way of building an intimate relationship with Jesus. It matured me.

From where I stand now, I would much rather prefer to never put distance between us again, but now I understand that remaining close to You means following You. Following You into opportunities, rooms, jobs, and relationships that I myself wouldn’t naturally be drawn to, and choosing to do this daily. You kill comfort, but give us peace. Only Jesus is capable of something like this.

Godspeed…

Ask Yourself:

Am I far from God but continually asking why He’s choosing to be far from me?

Are comfort and ease keeping me from true peace?

What’s the one thing that won’t leave you alone, waiting for you to address it?