To say my aloe plant was top heavy and in need of new soil is an understatement. As I pulled the plant away from the pot, I could see roots encompassing and choking out any soil in the pot. The roots had crowded in and grown against the inside of the pot. The plant had become root bound–rigid to the form inwhich it was held.
Our own hearts become rigid to form. We like our little space of living, our own world of understanding—it’s comfortable…it’s known…like an old pair of slippers. Our feet slip into the molded form and we are at home…cozied down in the familiar.
We like familiar. We like the known. It’s comforting, soothing and goes down easy.
So what happens when God breaks into our comfortable? When He reveals our own rigidness and makes us uncomfortable? Does our desire for normalcy rise up…Does the comfortable fight for the form of the known… Do we become rigid in our stance, inflexible in our understanding and miss out on new?
God’s Truth to us can make us uncomfortable. His Truth convicts and reveals our own inadequacies and short-comings. We sometimes put the Truth away…close the Book and set it aside until a more convienent time.
In Acts 24, Governor Felix invited Paul to share with him Truth but
…as Paul continued to insist on right relations with God and his people, about a life of moral discipline and the coming Judgment, Felix felt things getting a little too close for comfort and dismissed him. “That’s enough for today. I’ll call you back when it’s convenient.” ~ Acts 24:24-26(The Message)
Our form is comforting and Truth too close for comfort brings a choice to us. Will we dismiss the Truth, pushing it away until a more convenient time…or will we allow God to break the form and plant us in healthy soil for growth…pliable to His Truth.
With my aloe plant, when I saw the roots in potted form, I began at once to pull away at the base of the plant …breaking former connections, dividing the roots and planting the aloe into a new environment with plenty of room for the roots to dig in, find nourishment and expand into new areas of growth. When God desires growth in our lives, a ripping away from the comfortable takes place so we can be planted in rich soil to feed our roots.
Blessed are those…who delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate on His law day and night. They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. ~ Psalm 1:1-3
How is He breaking your form? How have you learned to become pliable to His work in you? What Truth is He rooting in you?
I invite you to share insights or words of encouragement you have discovered by clicking on the “Leave a comment” link at the top of this post. I would love to hear from you in this growing season.
Tripping Over Typeset 
Four years ago, in my quest to find a place where I could love God on a deeper level, I was brought into the doors of a small church in Lansing where the pastors’ children made me feel so welcomed and helped show me the way! MANY times my comfort level was pushed but I persisted, knowing God has his plan. I continue with that struggle now in a different state but also know that being challenged in my own ‘comfort’ zone is not necessarily a bad thing and in the end, each Sunday, I feel I”ve learned, grown, loved and at home!
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Aahh, yes I remember that time! 😉 Those were some great years of growing together! So glad God crossed our paths so we could be a part of each others journey! Love and miss you! Thanks for sharing!
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For years I have been praying that God would prepare me as a carrier of His Glory … wonderful prayer but I hardly knew for what I was asking. None-the-less He wants to answer that prayer because He knows that man fully alive glorifies the LORD. Fortunately, He is a GOOD God and knows exactly what I need, exactly when, exactly how much I can endure and exactly how to accomplish it brilliantly.
My part? Keep the invitation open despite the “heat” and trust that He knows what He is doing. My request? That the LORD would be present in the breaking and near in the pain. Someone once said “We experience as much Glory as we are willing to guard” … so grow me up LORD and teach me to protect Your Glory!
It is never easy to deny self because we are selfish carnal creatures entitled to our pet comforts living in a corrupt world that feeds and profits off iniquity. But as for me, I will rather take the pain for the joy of becoming all that my Father intended from the beginning.
After all, what can I give to One Who lacks nothing? I give my heart and I subject my will to His.
As I journey in this destiny Father sets before me … I begin to possess my birthright in The Kingdom, I become the person God had in mind from the beginning of time and I glorify my God and King.
The bonus? I get to partner with Holy Spirit in defeating Father’s ancient arch-enemy … under MY FEET !!
Grant it LORD! IJNA
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So true, — I have found that statement “We experience as much Glory as we are willing to guard” to be true as well. When we open yourselves up to letting Him reveal new things in us, through us, and act responsibly with that knowledge, He continues to grow us more. Oh that I would continue to trust Him more and let Him break me out of my own comfort to show others more of Him and less of me. Thank you for sharing, Carol!
Sent from my iPad
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Thanks Rachel, as God is possibly moving us again in a new direction it is wonderful to hear words to remind us to not be comfortable where we are, but ready to move where he leads.
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Yes, & every time He leads us into new territory we see His faithfulness again! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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