Comfortable in the Uncomfortable?

This past Christmas I flew back to California to soak up some glorious sunshine and of course to see my family.  After an exciting trip and wonderful memories with everyone, I headed to the airport to anxiously await the plane that would bring me back to the Winter Wonderland of Montana.  And since I always have to find some sort of excitement to entertain me as I await a flight, I was pleasantly surprised to have a little sparrow fly past my head and land a few feet from where I sat.  This little guy and I locked eyes and possibly pondered one another's existence...ok...maybe I simply pondered why a bird was inside an airport and how he snuck past TSA.  But then as I watched this bird, I recalled a few years ago when in the same airport, that a little bird flew past me. 

Could it be? 

No...a sparrow wouldn't just hang out for a couple of years in an airport.  And certainly the airport staff wouldn't let him stay for so long.  And why do flashbacks of the movie "The Terminal" flood my mind?  It's like Tom Hanks and this bird had to simply experience living life inside of an airport!

And of course, once these silly thoughts subsided, God had to give me a lesson for my heart.  Really God?  Why can't we just leave it at the funny thoughts...the lightheartedness?  Why must we dig down deep into the heart and uproot something that I tried to hide, tried to ignore?  Oh...that's right...because You want me to be refined for Your glory.  I suppose....if I must....so what was this heart lesson that He revealed?

"Don't become comfortable in the uncomfortable."

Really?  Back to words spoken to me from a friend awhile ago?  Oi vey!

The sparrow was making his home in the airport flitting to the water fountain for nourishment and soaring around like he owned the place, visiting people along the way...he didn't realize that the airport is not his home.  There's a great big world out there where he can feel the wind beneath his little wings and drink from fresh spring water.  But he would rather remain in the comfortable than venture out into the unknown.

I tend to be like the sparrow, so comfortable in my surroundings.  I allow the comforts of this world to seep in and I adapt and find ways to plug along without desiring any change.  I continue each day to do what I want to do that will make me happy and make life easy.  I enjoy the scenery, friendships and life before me, but all for selfish purposes....because they simply make me happy.  Granted the world and all it holds - the beauty of the mountains, the crashing sound of the ocean waves, the vibrant sunsets and sunrises - are God given and amazing...but they are temporary.  Even my friendships are temporary.  I have been given an opportunity to experience it all, but if I live only for these things, then I am becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable. 

God placed me here, called me His own, and asks that I make the most of my time here on earth for Him.  I have the privilege of enjoying the things He created...but ultimately it's not about my comfort, my desires, or even me.  It's about Him.  It's about living each moment for Him. 

My life on earth is short.  This is not my eternal home.  My eternal home is with Him.  So I need to stop being comfortable in the temporary things and begin to step out in faith into the things He places before me, so that His name and glory can be proclaimed.  Sure I can enjoy the sunsets, the mountains, the friendships, my job...but my focus in all of it needs to be upon Him. 

There are things that He wants me to do that will take me out of my comfort zone.  If I keep trying to control my little world, I'm like the sparrow and making myself comfortable in a world that I don't belong in.  I need to find the courage, in Christ, to step out into the great unknown and trust Him.  Freedom is there...waiting for me to leave my life of what I deem is comfortable and safe...and choose a life lived for Him.  My eternal home with Christ is where true comfort will be found.  My eyes must remain on Him and my heart tuned to Him as I jump out of this "comfortable" world and into a life of obedient faith...

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:17