God Wants To Make You Uncomfortable.

Honest question that I’ve been asking myself lately: Do I allow God to make me uncomfortable?

Let’s REAL TALK here and unpack this for a minute (or so). 🤣

What if…

Some of the things we’ve always “known” to be true (or untrue) were actually just by-products (fruit) of an automatic response to (rejection of) anything that makes us feel unsafe or uncomfortable?

What if these automatic (often subconscious) response patterns are actually creating false narratives in our minds and hearts that are holding us back from jumping all-in with a God that seeks to invite us into His MORE, today?

Let’s break this down –

So often, what we’ve always “known” to be true gets translated into what “is” true.

And this is so incredibly important to realize.

Let’s take this simple example: Genesis 3:14 says God cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly, groveling in the dust for as long as it lived, yes? Has that ever led you to the thought: “What did serpents do before this moment in the garden?” Does it seem too far-fetched to believe that they might have had legs and walked? What about wings? Did they glide? Truth: Who knows? The Bible doesn’t tell us the mode of transportation for the serpent before this very moment, but one thing is clear: It IS ALWAYS possible that just because we accept a “fact” as truth because it’s what we’ve always “known” (example: serpents slither on their bellies) doesn’t mean that “what we’ve always known” is always, in fact, truth.

Let’s play that again, but slower:

Just because we believe it’s “true” because it’s what we’ve always known…

Doesn’t mean that “what we’ve always known” is actually true.

You got me? Okay, so…

What if we applied that concept to other things? The way God moves. The people He uses. The way He uses them. The moves He makes. The way He sees you. The way He sees me. The way He sees (fill in the blank). You get what I’m saying, right?

What if…

We stepped outside what we have always “known” and accepted as “truth” and then we allowed God to make us uncomfortable as He confronts things in our heart and invites us into HIS MORE?

Hypothetically, in this circumstance, we would have two choices: Accept that it’s possible that we have been wrong about some things and jump into His heart to explore this MORE that He is readily revealing or…

Reject anything that doesn’t “fit” in our perceived box of “truths” (our narrative) and miss out entirely on this invitation into the wild side of the Kingdom and His heart (or even His very presence!).

Hold onto this thought for a bit because I have more to say on that further down below. But…

Truth: If you choose option B and maintain a death grip on what you’ve always known to be true about God or how He moves just because it’s what you’ve always experienced, been taught, been told, understood, etc. –

You will allow anything that validates that deeply held “truth” to penetrate your spirit (For example: opinions of others), while often completely filtering out anything that rubs up against or contradicts that deeply held personal “truth” (For example: Even God’s whisper).

Did you catch what I’m trying to say here?

I’m trying to quickly get to the point of saying: If we don’t allow God to make us uncomfortable, we can actually end up filtering out HIS VOICE, at times, because we say, “That can’t be God because it goes against what I’ve always known. And if it contradicts my deeply held personal ‘truths’ then I don’t accept it. I will ask a friend their opinion and get the validation that I need in order to know that I’m right. And then all will be comfortable again for me because I have proven that…(fill in the blank).”

Just a quick example and not meant to directly speak to your situation, but friend, this is just human nature.

We often seek to validate OUR truths, but we rarely pause to ask: Where did OUR truths actually come from?

What are they rooted in?

Was it the opinions of our parents, friends or spiritual advisors that we heard, agreed with, accepted as truths, and allowed to become a core belief in our own lives? Or was it God?

Was it the comfort of our “known” and “understood” over the years of our spiritual journey to date? Or was it the wisdom and discernment directly of and from the Holy Spirit?

Here’s another truth: We can ALL get it wrong at times, friend.

God is much bigger than any of us will ever be able to understand. His ways are far beyond anything that our human mind can even begin to wrap around. He knows the beginning and the end. And although we preach about the faith that it takes to walk in His path for our lives, we often fail to apply this truth when it comes to generational or denominational patterns of more widely accepted, comfortable and “known” truths about who God is, how He moves, or even who He uses.

In other words, when God’s moves seem to break the pattern of the known and normal, we all-too-often put a death grip on what we believe we “know” and reject anything outside that box.

Do you remember the wildly popular movie, Jesus Revolution? What did that era (and film) teach us? Hopefully, that Jesus is beautifully unapologetic about empowering, encouraging, and pouring over with His anointing and favor in ways (and through people) that we never see coming. Because here’s the thing: God’s BIG POWER MOVES most often DO NOT FIT inside the status quo. And…

Those who hold onto “what I’ve always known” risk missing the movement of God entirely – quite literally missing the very moment He walks by – simply because this version of *Jesus* doesn’t fit inside the box they have created. (See how I looped that back?? << PS: Anyone getting Pharisees vibes here? Just saying. It’s an easy trap with painful consequences.)

And yes, it’s a box. Because remember: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Bottom line: No matter how much we believe that we comprehend and know about God, how He moves, who He uses, or all the why, how, when, and where…

He will always (always) be MORE.

Let me give you an example:

I recently read an article about a previous student and teacher at Bethel Church’s School of Supernatural Ministry who experienced a glory cloud of gold dust swirling in the auditorium during worship. Perhaps this is something you never thought possible. Perhaps you thought it was staged, fake, and/or simply untrue. Well, turns out, so did she. And when asked about her reaction, here’s what she said, “I found myself on my knees, amid this cloud, cry-whispering to (God): ‘Lord forgive me for my unbelief.’”

Lord, forgive me for my unbelief.

In my own personal journey, I have not experienced a glory cloud, but I have experienced the VERY REAL aroma of the presence of God. Yes, I could literally smell THROUGH MY NOSE the lingering scent of His Spirit in my space.

And here’s the thing: Before that moment, I once thought, how could something like that even BE REAL? After all, it clearly doesn’t fit within anything I’ve ever known to be of God and how He moves.

You see, I, too, have been humbled and sought forgiveness for my unbelief, many times over, as God walked me into MORE…

MORE than I once accepted as truth.

MORE than I once understood to be of Him and His glory.

MORE than I once created space for due to my unbelief in all things unfamiliar.

MORE than I once embraced in my box of comfort and “understanding.”

Lord, forgive me for my unbelief. I want to ALWAYS be stretched into MORE.

Friend, know this: I am not writing this piece assuming that I know what limiting belief is holding you back, but I DO believe that all of us have them. Sometimes they are right there in front of us, hiding in plain sight, keeping us from experiencing the very real and tangible evidence of Him and His presence in our life and space, today. And here’s the thing –

In a year of living life outside the boat, my prayer for you is this: That you allow God to make you as uncomfortable as it takes to bring those walls of old belief systems down. That He releases you from all the hidden untruths that are holding you back and invites you regularly into HIS MORE.

Ask Him to bring you into all new experiences and understandings; Spaces and places that challenge the status quo and tradition and break you free of “what you’ve always known.”

Lord, forgive me for my unbelief. Teach me, grow me, stretch me, and challenge me.

Because, friend, here’s one final truth for your journey ahead: In HIS MORE, something beautiful and unexpected is always revealed. Something supernatural and Heavenly is always touched. And that experience of God, tangible and yet also SO BIG that it is without adequate words, is so powerful that it that sets your heart on fire and you can’t help but hunger for more (and more) of Him.

We were MADE FOR MORE.

We were designed for it.

We were created to hunger for it.

But will we walk in it?

When it shakes our understanding…

When it attempts to stretch outside the boundaries of our neatly packaged box…

Will we let God grow us in our space of discomfort…

So that we can walk, today, in MORE of Him?

That’s your #challengeoftheweek from my heart to yours!

All my love,

Shannon