On comfort

I am about to share something that may be horrific and grotesque to some of my readers.  You may never look at me the same way, want to unfriend me, or spread gossip all around the hood about me.  

However, some of you may relate.  You may even do the laugh of recognition, because you have the same struggle.  

None the less, I am compelled to share.

I am a creature of comfort.  What's the big deal? Right? Am I right?  Well, so much so, that some mornings I lag it on taking a shower until 12 noon…this is where the judgement may be kicking in. I love being in my comfy pjs and robe.  Crazy hair don't care. Slippers and coffee.  Ugh, I absolutely adore it. 

The problem is, my lack of a shower, affects my mood.  I get all moody and almost feel dirty.  I don't want to do anything. I often shy away from reading my Word.  Dishes pile up.  Kids running round jumping on the sofas.  I'm comfortable though.  

THEN…

Frank comes home... and cue Vador's theme song:  Dum dum dum, dum de dum, dum de dum….Oh SNAP!  I haven't showered!!!

You see, the other day I had an epiphany, a sudden manifestation.  While in the shower…I was thinking, Why do I fight taking a shower? When I am in it, I'm loving it.  I feel refreshed, and my mind feels sharper, and it's almost like I've been awakened.

So my epiphany was, I hate the transition from comfy to water.  There is a brief moment when you are exposed and are cold and vulnerable.  But then…there is the warmth that rains over you, and you are at ease again.  The water running over you, cleansing you, comforting you, and reviving you.

That is when the Holy Spirit whispered, This is what my WORD will do for you EVERY time you read it.  Ohhh!!  That is why we need the Word.  That is what is does for us.  It cleanses us.  It revives our spirits and our minds.  

That moment of exposure is what keeps some of us from the word.  We know what the Bible says, yet we know how we have been living.  We are exposed and are afraid that the Sword might pierce us, convict us, and we are not about that life.  We want to continue to be comfortable with the way we are living.  We want to be comfortable in our compromises. 

The problem becomes we choose comfort over being clean.  We rush past the mirror, because we know when we look in it we may not like what we see.  Or we prefer to mask ourselves as we are looking in.  The Bible says in the book of James chapter 1:

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

The word is vital in the life of a believer.  Every morning, we have the chance to read it and receive instruction and cleansing.  His word sets us FREE.  Free from the filth that the world throws at us and the filth that we pick up ourselves.  I mean, how many times do we wash our hands in a day.  Why? Our hands get nasty.  Well imagine the condition of our hearts and minds if we did not wash them clean.  If we added a smell to filth in our hearts and minds, how many of us would still have friends or people who would want to be around us.  Then there is the other extreme that might be overly clean.  They might end up not living life or missing out because they are too scared to get a spec of dirt on them. (I am being hyperbolic here).

We need to be clean. I need to be clean. Whether we want to or not.  IT is GOOD for us and for those around us.

With all my love,

Darla