Embrace the Within no. 32

“The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”

• G. K. Chesterton

God is good all the time. I just have a difficult time seeing that because I get too comfortable. Christianity isn’t about being comfortable, though. Christianity is about being comforted.

I used to be comfortable. I was living oblivious to my own brokenness. I had no idea that I was living a physically, mentally, and spiritually unhealthy life. I had no idea. I was surrounded by folks living with varying degrees of unhealthiness that were comfortable in that unhealthiness. And it is easy to be both comfortable and complain in this country without ever changing. I could easily find many ways to entertain and distract myself from the unhealthiness that was all throughout my life.

And then the fear hit me back in March 2020. Fear for feeding my family. A concern that took me out of focus on myself and into focus on those around me. And that is where the process began for me. In the midst of all that fear there was a light that appeared really faint on the horizon which started me on this journey. And I started making myself uncomfortable.

At first it was all about getting my body healthy because you are what you eat. It sounds so simple yet how many times do we make poor food choices, poor health choices, poor life choices out of comfort? So, I changed my diet and moved away from the bulk of what is for sale in grocery stores and started eating food I could identify as naturally occurring. And relying on making your own foods is uncomfortable when you can easily order out, buy prepackaged, or snack. And being uncomfortable began. Through physical and mental health came the work on my spirit.

I hear a lot of the metaphor about our bodies being a temple and then usually hear that followed by comparisons to temples in ruin, temples abandoned, temples overgrown. I don’t want that temple. I don’t want a temple that isn’t actively being used as a place for worship. I don’t care if that temple is a tent, a shack, or a mansion, that temple is going to be actively involved in worship. And that is the reason I am renovating this building. I am spending the time to get this temple in the best condition for God. And that is as uncomfortable as anything else in life can be. Working all my nephesh is part of that walk.

What am I modeling if this temple is a mess? If there are fast food wrappers and empty pizza boxes stacked out front of this temple? If the door is off the hinges and the windows are broken? If the roof is leaking and the ventilation doesn’t work? What is my model showing others?

Not every temple is built the same BUT every temple needs to be in the best condition it can get. And I can’t neglect one part of my nephesh and be comfortable. I need to work on the whole body, the whole nephesh, the whole temple. I can’t be skipping leg day. I can’t be just reading scripture. I can’t be just eating healthy. I can’t be just one of those things. I need them all in unison. I need that alignment of body, mind, and spirit in the service and worship of God.

God is comforting and God is uncomfortable. Find that uncomfortability that will help you change into the best temple for God to find worship within.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Be a blessing to God and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin