Christian Almanac: Where Faith Meets Real Life
Episode 10 Transcript
Called to More Than Comfort: Finding God in the Ordinary
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God never promised us that life would be comfortable.
The Bible records a lot of promises that God made, but never one that assures his children of a comfortable, easy life. Certainly he comforts us during challenging times, but he never promised that we would be physically, materially, or even emotionally comfortable.
One of my favorite columnists is Mollie Engelhart, who is a regenerative farmer and rancher. I’ll put a link to her book, Debunked by Nature, in the description.
She opened a recent column with this:
“We are living in the most comfortable time in human history, and yet we are not thriving. We are becoming weaker, less adaptable, and less capable of doing hard things—not because hardship has disappeared, but because we have stopped choosing it.”
She wasn’t talking only about physical things, she was also talking about ideas, attitudes, and relationships. She was talking about being challenged and rising up to meet it.
Sometimes living our faith in real life—whether it’s at work, at home, or in a variety of other environments—sometimes it’s just not comfortable. Sometimes it goes beyond uncomfortable to downright hard.
And sometimes it’s more comfortable to stay quiet when we know we should speak up, to do something we know we shouldn’t, or not do something we know we should. That’s when being comfortable gets spiritually dangerous.
It’s easy to drift toward comfort without even realizing it. We choose to stay in what’s popularly called our comfort zones, where we feel safe and in control. We build our routines around the familiar. We avoid conversations that might create tension or conflict. We delay difficult decisions.
None of that feels dramatic or even significant as it’s happening, but over time, it begins to shape us. A life built on comfort begins to shrink. A life built on obedience to God, even when it’s uncomfortable, expands. It stretches our faith, deepens our character, and equips us to be used by God in ways we might never have experienced otherwise.
As Christians, we are not called to be comfortable. Quite the contrary, we’re called to do things that can be decidedly uncomfortable. Jesus made this clear when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23, NIV).
We’re called to love God and our neighbors. Okay, loving God is easy. Our neighbors? Not always.
We’re called to show mercy, even when we think it’s not deserved.
We’re called to forgive, no matter how hard it is
or how many times we have to do it because it didn’t stick.
We’re called to glorify God in everything we do. We’re called to reflect Christ in our thoughts and actions. Sometimes that comes naturally, sometimes it doesn’t.
We’re called to pray, to study Scripture, and to be a part of a Christian community.
We’re called to serve humbly, even when it’s not convenient, even when it means sacrifice.
We’re called to be truthful, even when a lie, or maybe just a little fib, would be easier.
We’re called to share the gospel, even with people who don’t want to hear it and who may be scornful of our beliefs.
We are called to choose what’s hard, what’s uncomfortable, and when we accept that call, when we follow God’s commands, we grow. We become stronger. We become capable of doing more,
and so we do,
and then we find ourselves in a glorious upward spiral of joy. We experience an inner peace that is rarely found in doing what’s easy.
If you look at our physical beings and nature, which is the world God created, it’s evident that God did not intend for us to be comfortable.
We don’t get physically stronger by sitting in a chair, we get physically stronger by exercising.
We don’t gain wisdom by watching trash television, we gain wisdom by studying, by learning new things, by evaluating and then deciding to accept or reject new ideas. We’re reminded in Romans:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NIV).
That kind of transformation is rarely comfortable or easy.
This is not to say that we shouldn’t appreciate and enjoy the physical comforts of our modern world. These are all gifts from God.
James 1:17 reminds us that “every good and perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17, NIV)
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying comforts, showing gratitude for them, and using them to further God’s kingdom.
The danger comes when comfort becomes our purpose instead of a tool through which we serve God’s purpose. The danger comes when comfort keeps us from obedience, from growth, or from fulfilling God’s calling.
In her article—and I’ll include a link to it in the description—Mollie Engelhart put it this way:
“The generations before us fought hard to create the level of comfort we now enjoy, but comfort was never meant to be the end goal. It was meant to be the starting point for something greater.”
Let me be clear that just as God’s purpose is not for us to be comfortable, he does want us to be comforted.
In Second Corinthians, Paul wrote:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV)
God will comfort us as we make ourselves uncomfortable, as we step out in faithful obedience, as we follow this Christian path which is in so many ways simple, but not easy.
I’ll be back in a moment.
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Real life isn’t a movie or a novel. It’s not made up of big dramatic moments played out by people who always know exactly what to say.
It’s routines and responsibilities. It’s being with people we know and love. It’s doing things we don’t think about, like washing dishes and folding laundry. It’s interruptions when we’re on a deadline. Sometimes it’s a sweet sticky kiss from a child or a smile from a stranger.
And God is in every single one of those moments.
We tend to look for God in the extraordinary, in the narrowly-missed catastrophe or the amazing achievement. But when we focus on finding God in those places, we miss him in our ordinary, day-to-day lives.
I’m not sure why, but it seems that we tend to expect God to show up in big ways that are unquestionably divine. We’re looking for dazzling answers that are absolutely clear, for spectacular changes, or obvious direction. We want that ta-da moment when everything clicks, when it all makes sense, and when there’s no doubt that God is working.
And those moments do happen.
But they’re not the norm.
Most of life isn’t lived in those kinds of moments—and thank God for that. Most of us couldn’t take that constant adrenaline rush.
Most of life is routine. It’s taking care of our homes and families, it’s going to work, it’s showing up where we need to be and doing what needs to be done.
And because most of life feels ordinary, we assume those times aren’t spiritual.
It’s easy to compartmentalize our lives. We have our work,
our home and family,
our social life,
and then there’s the God part—prayer, church, Bible study, and that’s where God is.
But that division doesn’t exist in Scripture, and it shouldn’t exist in our daily lives.
The problem isn’t that God isn’t present when we’re doing those mundane chores, it’s that we’ve taught ourselves to not look for him there. We’ve taught ourselves to look for something bigger and more dramatic. And we’re missing the steady, consistent ways God is working right in front of us, every minute of every day.
God often works in the ordinary, and we see it throughout the Bible. Moses was tending sheep when he encountered God at the miraculous unconsumed burning bush. Tending sheep. How much more ordinary does it get?
First Kings chapter 19 tells us how the prophet Elijah heard the Lord.
And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12, NKJV)
Even Jesus lived the majority of his life in ordinary daily work and relationships.
Just because nothing dramatic is happening doesn’t mean God is absent.
God is always with us.
I remember being taught that as a child—being told that God was always watching over me. Today I find that comforting. Back then, it was a bit unnerving that God could see me always, even when I was in the bathroom.
But it’s not that God is some superspy. It’s that he loves us and is always with us, and there is nowhere we can go where he is not present.
Psalm 139 verses 7-10 say it so beautifully:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10, NIV)
And yet, it’s so easy for us to miss his amazing presence because we’re just not taking the time to appreciate it.
So what can we do about it?
Begin each day with a simple prayer. Say, “God, help me notice you today.”
You’re not asking God to give you more to do. He knows how busy you already are. You’re asking him to change your perspective.
With this shift, you’ll start seeing God where you’ve been overlooking him.
You’ll see him in your relationships, in your everyday interactions. You’ll realize he’s in those moments that don’t feel are significant, but when you take the time to listen, when you offer encouragement, or when you choose patience when it would be easier to be short or dismissive, you’ll know he was there, guiding you. Or when someone does those things for you, he was there because he knew what you needed.
When you’re kind, when you respond with grace instead of frustration, when you show up for someone—that’s your faith in action. That’s God.
You’ll see God in work and responsibility. Your work, whatever responsibilities you’ve been given, is one of the primary places you live out your faith, and God is there. He’s there helping you handle pressure, guiding you in how you treat people, and making sure you honor your word by following through.
You’ll even start seeing God in interruptions. About the only time I like interruptions is when I’m doing something I don’t really want to do and I’m looking for an excuse to not do it. But most of the time, we tend to see interruptions as distractions, as something that slows us down or pulls us away from what we want or need to do.
But we don’t plan all of the moments when God is working, and sometimes those moments look like interruptions.
Of course, not every interruption is meaningful. Some are just interruptions. But many of them are unexpected opportunities to serve, and to pay attention to what God might be doing in that moment.
Looking for God in the ordinary moments doesn’t require a total overhaul of your day. It does, however, require a change in your perspective.
It’s not just that when you look for God you’ll find him—because God’s not hiding.
It’s that when you look for him, when you invite him to be a part of your everyday life, you’ll find that he’s always been there.
Not just in the big moments, but in the quiet, steady, routine places where we live most of the time.
And when you begin to recognize that, you’ll realize something important. You’re no longer waiting for God to show up—you’re learning to walk with him in what’s already right in front of you.
I’ll be back in a moment with this week’s real life tip.
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We’ve all been frustrated when we don’t get the service we want and need. So what should we do? We can wait and complain afterward, or we can be proactive. That’s what this week’s real life tip is about.
The next time you’re in a situation where you need a certain level of performance from someone and you know there’s a good chance you won’t get it, try thanking them in advance for doing what you want them to do.
Most people will respond by trying to earn the appreciation you expressed.
For example: You have an IT person on your staff who tends to be abrupt and doesn’t explain things clearly to others in your operation. It’s affecting morale and productivity because people aren’t getting the maximum benefit out of your technology systems.
Instead of telling her she needs to be more pleasant, avoid techno-speak, and be sure others understand her,
thank her for being that way.
Say, “Emily, I really appreciate you taking the time to make sure the customer service reps understand how to use all the features of the new tracking system. You talk to them in plain English, using terms they understand, and you treat them with respect. Thanks.”
You know that’s not what Emily is really doing. She may or may not realize that’s not what she’s doing. But you’ve paid her a compliment, and it’s human nature to respond to something nice that’s said about us by trying to be more of whatever that is.
It’s part of the law of reciprocity. You create a sense of obligation to fulfill the expectation you’ve set on the part of the person you thank or compliment. Emily is very likely to start demonstrating the behavior you just praised her for.
Here’s another example: You’re in a restaurant and the service is poor. You could complain to the manager, but that’s probably not going to get you much more than an apology.
Instead, try thanking the server for doing a good job. The service should improve—and if it does, you got what you needed. If it doesn’t, you aren’t really any worse off.
This strategy might even work with your kids.
But the key is sincerity. You have to mean what you say—if you’re at all sarcastic or insincere, the other person will sense it and the strategy will backfire. Visualize people doing what you want, tell them they’re doing a great job, and thank them—even if they haven’t done it yet. More often than not, they’ll work hard to earn your praise and appreciation.
Thanks for being here. See you next week.