Are we too comfortable to walk by faith?

Maybe this is something just for me, but probably not; I don’t believe I’m the only one who’s ever too comfortable to walk by faith.

What do I mean?

I wonder if part of our walk of faith includes moments, times, incidents (or whatever you’d like to call them), when God pulls back and allows life to happen.

Why?

Because He wants/needs us to go a certain direction but we’re quite content to hang on to His latest blessing.

He’s prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies, and we’ve called in the construction crew to build us a permanent dwelling. 

But David said, “Though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death…”. The table was intended to be a temporary place of refreshment and nourishment, not a retirement home.

We find an oasis in a desert and want to turn it into a resort.

But God wants us to walk by faith.

He has divine appointments for us to keep; appointments we don’t know anything about, but will learn of when it’s time.

When we walk by faith.

Elijah was a person just like us. Sure, he was a prophet, but he wasn’t perfect. James declared Elijah “was as human as we are…” (James 5:17 NLT).

So let’s look at how the very human prophet acted after he told the king of Israel, “As surely as the Lord , the God of Israel, lives – the God I serve – there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word” (1 Kings 17:1 NLT).

God instructed Elijah to go to a brook called Kerith, and set up camp. Elijah, walking by faith and obedience to God’s word did that very thing.

Sure enough, where God guides He provides, and a flock of ravens arrived every morning and evening with meat and bread for the man of God.

So Elijah had food and water, though a famine was hitting the nation.

But Kingdom living was never intended to be a selfish kind of existence. As God told Abraham in Genesis 12, “I am blessing you, so you can bless others”.

Elijah was blessed, but God needed to move him along so he could bless others.

Elijah was becoming too comfortable to walk by faith; so he needed a little nudge.

What happened next? Elijah’s blessing dried up.

It’s amazing how ready we are to hear from God when trouble hits home.

God tells Elijah to go to a certain town and find the widow who’d been instructed to feed him.

Now if that had been me, I’d have driven into town and looked for a woman who looked like she had money to burn.

But God had Elijah’s attention, and was able to lead him to the right person, who by the way, needed a miracle before she could help anyone.

But isn’t that just like God?

Elijah could bless someone because he obeyed God and left his blessing.

He left his place of comfort for a place of obedience.

Another example. Do you recall Jesus, on more than one occasion, telling His disciples to “Go into all the world…”? He told them they’d be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and everywhere.

So what did they do?

Stayed home. The church was growing like wildfire at home. It was exciting and no one was leaving town.

Until they became too uncomfortable.

Until persecution arose.

Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ. The whole area came into salvation. Miracles, excitement, great offerings…; who’d want to leave?

But the Lord said, “Arise and go down toward Gaza, which is desert” (Acts 8:26).

What did Philip do? “He arose and went.”

And Ethiopia was soon to receive the gospel.

What’s God doing in your life? Are you blessed? Are you comfortably blessed?

Are you too comfortable to walk with God?

One last example.

Genesis eleven. The Tower of Babel.

After the flood, God instructed mankind to replenish the earth. He wanted them to spread throughout the world and start communities everywhere.

But they had a better idea. They became too comfortable to walk by faith.

They rebelled, demonstrated their rebellion with a tower meant to be an display of defiance.

What did God do?

He fixed it so they HAD to move.

Kind of like He did with Elijah.

Sort of like He did for the early Christians.

And possibly like He’s trying to do in your life.

Well?