Reid Finnegan

As a kid I was literally the most morbidly shy little boy you would ever meet. I’m talking never, like NEVER, talked to people outside my family, would blush if someone looked at me for too long, and didn’t know what to say when asked how I was doing. But I will never forget (maybe because of the trauma I felt like I was experiencing at the time) what my dad always used to do. Whenever we would go to our neighborhood pool, which was my favorite thing in the world to do, he would always make me say a simple ‘hello’ to x number of people before we left. I dreaded it every time. I would muster up enough courage to briskly walk by the most seemingly nice person and blurt out “hey” under my breath before they knew what hit em. And I did it every time. Honestly, some days I wish my dad would have just ripped off my floaties and threw me in the deep end, because I felt like that might be the easier option of the two. At the time, I thought this was some cruel joke my dad was playing on me for some personal motive. But looking back, I know he really was just nudging (or to me, felt like throwing) me out of my comfort zone. 

I know thats just a story, but here’s the ultimate realization: if God is the perfect father, wouldn’t he do those same things? Push us out of our comfort zone, not only to show his glory in more profound ways, but to help us understand who we were made to be? This just makes me think of Jonah. Not the Jonah who has probably given you a hug in Bolton and put a smile on your face from his contagious laugh (love you dude). But the one who was scared out of his shorts to get on the boat and go to the most cruel city there was to date. God, of course, knows what he has in store for us. And he could have easily been like ‘hey Jonah I know this is the last place on Earth you want to go, but here’s a list of forty reasons why I’m sovereign over this situation and why you should trust me.’ But he didn’t. Jonah didn’t see the bigger picture, or have the immediate, split-second faith to trust that the Lord has got it. But, we know that in that discomfort that Jonah experiences, God’s glory is magnified. Like a lot. The entire city repents and the Lord finds favor over them. Now I don’t think that the Lord is calling us to drop everything and head on over to Nineveh. But I do think that this story just highlights how the Lord knows that ultimate comfort is found in him. Our earthly discomfort isn’t something we should run from, but something we should embrace, knowing that in Him, we find rest and relief from the stress of our lives. It may not be some earth-shattering event, but those things that happen day-to-day that we think about in the shower or when we go to bed and are like ‘dang I wish I would have done that today.’ So though I might not feel like I might toss chunks when I have to say hey to someone, I do still get uncomfortable when I talk to people I don’t normally talk to, or worship like there’s absolutely no one in the room but me and Jesus, or pray out loud, or offer to help someone I don’t know, or compliment a stranger or whatever it is. I mean fill in the blank for you! But what if we gave those situations to the Lord? What if we dove in, head first, to those things, eagerly embracing what the Lord so willingly offers in the midst of our nerves, butterflies, or just plain fear? I think this realization is the Lord challenging me to do those things, say those words, and never leave anything to regret not doing! ‘Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.’ – 2 Thessalonians 16:17