As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I LOVE my bed. I have the absolute BEST mattress (hello, Purple!), a bazillion pillows, blankets from Mexico and a duvet that my mother made me with some material that I brought back from India. I would rather lie in bed than sit on the couch. I have a friend who makes fun of me because I spend so much time in my bed – I work from there, I write from there, I talk on the phone from there….I’m sitting in my bed right now. It’s my safe place.
It’s where I go to talk to God when I find myself desperate for His voice.
Over the past few years, I’ve gotten good at running back to that bed for those talks with God. And I do grow there – in those conversations with God.
But it’s the life outside of my bed – out of my safe place – where God really grows me. And a lot of times that growth has come about because of conflict.
We grow in that tension created by conflict. And there’s all kind of conflict in our lives, y’all. Hello, we are human! 🙂
A few months ago, I had an incident where I had some significant conflict. I was told by someone that I trusted, that I couldn’t do something that I knew was soooo important to do. I was angry. So I took a breath and talked to the Holy Spirit. And well, I did that thing anyway because I knew it’s what God was calling me to do.
Talk about tension?!! Yikes!
It didn’t feel safe. And I was not thankful for it at the time. But I’m oh so thankful for it now. Well, sort of. That tension is still there, but God has used it to strengthen my obedience to His voice.
Often, conflict that creates tension does not feel like the best route because it’s not the safest route.
When we have conflict and feel that tension, He wants us to turn to Him. He wants us dependent on Him.
It’s because He’s taken me off of the safe route so many times in my life so that He has been able to develop in me a comfort for and in conflict.
I’ve had to follow Him to the places where it feels not so safe. [Hello, Afghanistan!] But in reality, it is. Because being in His will is the safest place to be.
Y’all, real life with people doesn’t always feel safe and real life certainly doesn’t happen when I’m in my bed.
God makes me get up and out of the comfort of my bed…..and then He brings me back to it, where we process it together.
Years ago, talking to God about all my messiness probably wouldn’t have been what I yearned for. But over the past couple of years, as a result of some desperate situations, He’s pulled me close and I’ve stayed close. We talk about and process that messiness. He tells me He loves me and that He’ll be with me when I walk off the safe path and follow Him. And y’all, ultimately thats where I want to be….in His will. No matter if I perceive it as safe or not. Because I know it will grow me. Grow my relationship with Him. And that I’ll return from that un-safe place even more desperate for and dependent on him.
Monica Ife’ Pettiford
Excellent! ??