(Psa 55:19) . . . Because they do not change, therefore they do not fear God.
Ask yourself honestly . . . are you in a rut? Are you doing the same thing over and over again? Is life losing its luster as a result? Then you might be stricken with a terrible malady. It’s called the CURSE OF COMFORT. You don’t get it from anybody else. You bring the disease on yourself. You choose the easy road and the path of least resistance. Now your wheels are caught in a groove and you can’t get out. Is there any escape?
Let’s admit it. We are all drawn toward that which will provide us the most comfort. All the way from choosing a more padded seat to sit on to a path of life to travel on. We have our creature comforts and fuss when those are tampered with. (Like Jonah’s plant that shaded him and then he complained when the worm ate it! – Jonah 4:5-8) Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad thing to be comfortable. It’s only not good when we choose comfort over the call. God might be calling us out of what we are used to into something else, but we don’t like change and so easily resist. The result of dodging the call really stinks . . . literally!
Listen to Jeremiah: (Jer 48:11) “Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed. The prophet is describing wine in the bottle that hasn’t been stirred up for some time. It produces a terrible sedentary smell and taste. Maybe God needs to shake some of us up to get our attention!
Jesus talked about two roads that we must choose from. The popular broad road that leads to destruction, or the less traveled narrow road that is more difficult to navigate. (Mat 7:13-14) Robert Frost said it well in his poem “The Road Not Taken”: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
My friend, you might be at a fork in the road. Will you choose comfort or the cross? Are you tired of always taking the easy way? Do you really want to come to the end of your life having played it safe but not much to show for it? Or will you choose the harder path that brings more joy, knowing you didn’t live for self, but for God and others?
I used to live off a dirt road. When it rained the cars would go by and create ruts. The next person would follow and make the grooves even deeper. When it dried it became so permanent that if a car’s wheels fell into it, the driver would have to really pull hard to get out. That’s what you and I must do. Let’s ask the Lord to pull us out of that rut and get us on the route He has for us. Choose the cross . . . and beware of the CURSE OF COMFORT!
Louie