I want to be comfortably, uncomfortable
This is a phrase I am using to define my spiritual walk. It’s easily noticed that these words are the antithesis of one another. 1. I want to be comfortable: The longer one serves Christ—and all that means by way of formation (Christ within!) —the more comfortable one becomes. Here is a comfortable kind of verse: John 21: 20 (NIV) Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) So, there has to be some sense of abiding in the vine—some sense of “He’s as close as the mention of His name.” I want to be comfortable with Jesus. I want to walk with the Spirit. I have to have intimacy with the Father. I am comfortable around God. I’m not nervous. I’m not worried. I’m not thinking He is waiting to clobber me. I live with Him, in Him, because of Him. A very crude illustration—it’s the old pair of slippers you ca