You’ve probably heard it said that “The safest place to be is in the centre of God’s will.” I beg to differ.
In fact, I propose that the centre of God’s will is actually a very dangerous place to live.
Safe (adjective): Protected from or not exposed to danger or risk; not likely to be harmed or lost.
To be safe is to be in the seat of comfort. Physical comfort, emotional comfort, spiritual comfort. The place of comfort is a lot closer to the centre of our own will than the will of God.
Physical comfort means I hold onto things tightly – my house, my truck, my extra padding around the middle…
Emotional comfort means I keep a firm grip on my emotions, erect a wall to protect myself from the harm of being hurt by another.
Spiritual comfort means I am satisfied with a one-way relationship with God, where I talk and He listens.
When I read God’s Word, I don’t see any commands for us to be comfortable and safe. Rather, I hear God calling us to be risky. Radical. To grow and be stretched.
He tells the physically comfortable to sell everything, give to the poor, and then follow Him. (Mark 10, Luke 18)
He tells the emotionally comfortable to love without regard for oneself, concentrating on pouring out graciousness to another. (1 Corinthians 13)
He tells the spiritually comfortable to grow up, stop nursing a bottle of milk and eat meat like an adult. (Hebrews 5)
Doesn’t sound very safe at all, does it?
No, the centre of God’s will is anything but safe.
God doesn’t call us to be safe. He calls us to be sacrificial. To deny our own desires for safety and comfort, to take up our own cross – an instrument of severe torture and suffering – and follow in His footsteps.
Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me…And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” ~ Luke 9:23 & 14:27
Show of hands… Who’s ready to to live a life of risk, firmly planted in the centre of God’s will?!
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Best part of the journey… Letting go and letting God. It’s the risk associated that allows His glory to shine. It’s in that shedding of myself that also brings peace that passes understanding. Oddly. Thanks for sharing, Tyler.
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