In a day and age when personal comfort has become the aim and measure for what we are willing to do, it could be that we’re not experiencing Jesus because we’re not willing to be where He is.

Think of all the hard places we see Jesus in Scripture — In the middle of a frightening storm on the Sea of Galilee, among the grieving at the grave of Lazarus, near a leper begging for healing, at a well in the heat of the day talking with a woman caught in adultery, among tax collectors and sinners, teaching people in a desolate place where no food was available, in the dirty manger, the Cross, the empty tomb. All these gritty, tough, uncertain, UNCOMFORTABLE places.

Obviously it’s not about visiting these geographic locations. It’s about self denial, which is a total departure from the current cultural narrative that says do what makes you feel most at ease, most comfortable. We won’t experience Jesus there.

Different pursuits, mean a different path. Forgiving others is hard. Helping the poor is costly. We don’t always feel like worshipping. Loving people through hardships is exhausting. Praying sometimes feels futile. Reading the Word can be confusing. Repentance is humbling. These things and countless others are gonna make us uncomfortable. But they’re so worth it because that’s where we experience Jesus.

And why should we expect any different? Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. – Matthew 16:24

#LookUp