I have often heard fellow Christians complain that they have experienced a growing sense of spiritual discomfort within themselves and within their inner sense of spirituality. Surely recent world events and our focus on the U.S. economic, social and political conditions are influences, but I also believe there is something more going on out there in the world today. Friends, do you not sense something is occurring in the spiritual realm or within the church that is or appears to be new?
I personally would deem the question I’ve posed as important for multiple reasons, but for me the foremost reasons are first, obedience to the will of God, and second, the Community of God (the role the Church)!
Just today a young and vibrant pastor shared with me insight that came to him during a revival he was invited to preach just last week, at a church that was not his own. What he observed during the delivery of his message and call for revival, by some within the congregation, took him more than slightly aback. What he observed from his perspective was a seemingly negative response to the focus of his message by some church members. A reaction, as related by the pastor, to him and his message that reminded me of comments my kids often made when they were young children and didn’t want to do what I would direct or counsel them to do, “You’re not the boss of me!”
During his message, as he stated to me, came this query and I paraphrase here: “Don’t you want to be part of a church that challenges you to be more than you are today?
For me, as I look to take hold of this challenge for revival, I see this as a challenge requiring some amount of pain, discomfort and inconvenience. If you perceive this is not the thrust of the revival message, where in the entirety of the biblical message of Jesus Christ do you find yourself, when responding to the question? If your church simply exists to make you happy, is it actually the church of Jesus Christ?
Imagine the awkward silence around the sanctuary during the revival, as the implications of the preached word sank in. Imagine the reaction within “your” religious community, if someone were to stand in the pulpit preaching a message that focused on “Spiritual discomfort being the start of revival?
Yes, often when change or the discussion of change is introduced many within a congregation form erroneous assumptions, positive relationships based upon discipleship are not cultivated and warning signs of splintering within the church are ignored. Obviously, among any number of congregations there appears to be a prevailing attitude that anything not aligned with one’s preconceived notion of how to do church was/is wrong and should be vehemently resisted!
My friends, God’s people the church, will only be able to flesh out our Kingdom agenda ("thy Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven...") when we accept the fact our task of faith necessitates each of us agreeing that in our present human state we are not all that God intends for us to be.
Clearly for most, if not all of us, we do not exist in a perfect spiritual state! Only when we come to understand the truth (our need for spiritual discomfort) do we enter into understanding. Only when we come to under the truth do we receive the grace to join with other believers in the discovery and the joy of costly discipleship and follow-ship. Yes, only then will clergy and laity alike find the harmony we seek in the midst of meeting challenges and the discomfort they often bring.
“And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. ~2 Corinthians 1:7 (NIV).
So is it spiritual revival or the birth pangs of Christ's return that should be spurred on during a revival? Well, it should not matter which one it is, really! How do we prepare for either (or both)? By focusing on honest, open and self reflective repentance! By focusing on what we can and should be doing to bring forth the Kingdom. By praying, praying, and praying - without ceasing – to open the doors to God’s storehouse of love. A love that when stored within our hearts provides the Holy Spirit with the spiritual ammo too witness and encourage each of us along the pathway to righteousness. God is calling us to true holiness, as He calls upon us to forsake the sinful entrapments of the world. He is calling us to deny ourselves, love one another and become broken - so He can abide in us and we can abide once again - IN CHRIST Jesus. We MUST stop believing God's sole and best plan for our lives is for us to be comfortable. It's not!
A clear example of this sense of discomfort is found in Jesus’ parable about the Rich young man (Matthew 19:16-29, Mark 10:17-30).
To the young man's credit, he was not hypocritical. He did not pretend he could do this (to surrender all his world possessions) when he could not. He knew what this meant: Christ's high standards and his own ambitions and desires were incompatible. Being both thoughtful and well-intentioned, he went away “sorrowful.”
Like anything requiring faith, when using the rich young man as an example, we must realize that the best things in life (even eternal life) don't come free or cheap. We've got to give something in exchange - in this case it's ourselves; our rights, our privileges, our wants. We must surrender all, so that we can see a new kingdom: a new order, a new way of being human.
In my near past, I’ve found myself “anxious, desperate and fearful enough to be on my knees” praying for such things to happen in my life! Praying the kind of prayer that says: "Gracious Lord, my savior and comforter, disrupt my current shaky sense of security, so that your kingdom can come and I can be a part of it..."
Are you ready to have Jesus disrupt your life in anticipation of the coming of His Kingdom?
Let Us Pray to the Lord:
“May God Bless You with Discomfort, Anger, Tears and Foolishness…”
May God bless each of us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that we may work for justice, freedom and peace
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy
May God bless us with foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world
So that each of us can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and those afflicted not only of economic poverty, but of a poverty of the spirit as well!
Amen
Source: A Franciscan Benediction
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