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REFINED FOR A PURPOSE — Conversation VIII WHEN GOD MAKES THE PLACE UNCOMFORTABLE · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome to Pomoja Ministry. In our last conversation,
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  we talked about the people God uses in our process.
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  Some encourage us. Some correct us. Some support
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  us. Some challenge us. Some teach us boundaries.
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  Some are part of our journey for a season. And
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  we discovered that although people can play important
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  roles in our lives, people are not our source.
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  God is our source. But today, I want us to go
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  one step further. Because sometimes God doesn't
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  only use people. Sometimes He uses places. Sometimes
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  He uses circumstances. Sometimes He uses discomfort.
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  There are places we would probably remain forever
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  if they continued to feel comfortable. There
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  are seasons we would never leave if nothing disturbed
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  us. There are environments we have outgrown.
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  But because they are familiar, we keep trying
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  to remain there. And sometimes we pray, God,
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  make this comfortable again, while God may be
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  saying, I am trying to move you. Today, we are
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  talking about when God makes the place uncomfortable.
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  Be careful, comfort can become a cage. Comfort
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  is not evil. Rest is biblical. Peace is a blessing.
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  Stability is valuable. But comfort becomes dangerous
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  when it makes us resistant to movement. Sometimes
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  we become so comfortable with what God did yesterday
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  that we stop asking what He is doing today. We
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  know the people. We know the system. We know
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  the routine. We know what to expect. And even
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  when we sense that something is changing, familiarity
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  tells us, stay here. Because moving requires
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  faith, moving requires uncertainty, moving requires
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  releasing what we know, and sometimes the place
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  that no longer fits our purpose still feels safer
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  than the place God is calling us toward. So God
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  may allow circumstances that force us to confront
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  a question we have been avoiding. Is my season
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  here ending? Israel became comfortable in Egypt.
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  Israel's relationship with Egypt did not begin
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  with slavery. That is important. Joseph's family
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  came to Egypt during famine. Egypt was initially
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  a place of preservation. There was food there.
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  There was protection there. There was provision
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  there. There was survival there. Egypt was an
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  answer to a crisis. But generations passed. Joseph
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  died. A new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph
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  and the place that once preserved Israel eventually
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  became the place that oppressed Israel. That
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  teaches us something important. A place can be
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  right for one season and wrong for another. Something
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  does not have to have been a mistake simply because
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  its season eventually ends. Egypt had served
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  a purpose. But Egypt was never the promise. And
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  sometimes we confuse the place where God preserved
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  us with the place where God intends us to remain
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  permanently. Then the cry changed. Exodus tells
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  us that Israel groaned because of their slavery.
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  They cried out. And their cry went up to God.
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  God heard them. God remembered His covenant.
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  God saw them. And God knew. Notice what suffering
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  did. used to cry. The environment became so uncomfortable
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  that Israel began crying for deliverance. And
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  sometimes there are prayers that comfort never
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  teaches us to pray. There are cries that only
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  come when remaining where we are becomes unbearable.
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  This does not mean God delights in suffering,
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  but it means suffering does not have to be wasted.
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  Sometimes pain awakens something. Sometimes pressure
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  exposes that we have settled. Sometimes discomfort
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  reminds us, this cannot be all God has for me.
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  Sometimes the place that saved you cannot take
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  you where you are going. Egypt preserved Israel
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  during famine, but Egypt could not fulfill Israel's
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  covenant destiny. There was a promised land ahead.
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  That means Israel eventually had to leave the
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  very place that once saved them from starvation.
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  Think about that. Sometimes we become emotionally
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  attached to something because we remember what
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  it did for us. A job helped you through a difficult
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  season. A relationship carried you through loneliness.
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  A church helped you heal. A city gave you opportunity.
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  A position gave you stability. A particular environment
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  protected you when you needed protection, and
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  all of that may have been real, but gratitude
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  for what something was should not prevent discernment
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  about what its season is now. You can thank God
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  for Egypt and still leave Egypt. Then Pharaoh
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  became part of the pressure. When God sent Moses
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  to Pharaoh, Pharaoh resisted. Again, and again.
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  Then Israel finally left, but Pharaoh changed
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  his mind and pursued them. Now Israel had Pharaoh
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  behind them and the Red Sea in front of them.
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  There was no comfortable option. They could not
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  simply return to yesterday. They could not manufacture
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  tomorrow. They had to depend upon God, and God
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  opened the sea. Sometimes the pressure behind
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  you becomes part of what prevents you from returning
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  to a place God is bringing you out of. There
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  are moments when God allows yesterday to become
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  so uncomfortable that going backward no longer
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  feels like safety. And perhaps some of us have
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  been praying, God, remove the pressure. While
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  God is using the pressure to teach us, stop looking
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  backward. But not every uncomfortable situation
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  means leave. We need wisdom here. This is extremely
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  important. We cannot teach that every difficult
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  job means God wants you to resign. Every difficult
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  marriage means God wants you to leave. Every
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  church disagreement means God wants you somewhere
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  else. Every conflict means a season has ended.
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  Every uncomfortable relationship means somebody
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  needs to disappear. Sometimes discomfort means
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  stay and grow. Sometimes it means stay and confront.
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  Sometimes stay and forgive. Sometimes stay and
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  develop discipline. Sometimes stay and learn
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  patience. And sometimes move. The question is
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  not simply Am I uncomfortable? The question is,
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  God, what are you saying through the season?
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  That requires discernment. Jonah was uncomfortable
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  too. This distinction matters because sometimes
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  discomfort is not God moving us forward. Sometimes
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  discomfort is the consequence of moving in the
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  wrong direction. Jonah received instruction,
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  go to Nineveh. Jonah went toward Tarshish. Then
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  came the storm. That storm was not confirmation
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  that Tarshish was difficult. It was interruption.
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  So we must never interpret circumstances without
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  prayer and scripture. Not every closed door means
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  no. Not every open door means yes. Not every
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  storm means attack. Not every easy road means
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  God's will. Not every difficult road means you
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  missed God. We need discernment. Sometimes God
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  uses discomfort to move us forward. Sometimes
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  he uses discomfort to turn us around. The important
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  thing is learning to hear him. God may disturb
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  what you have settled into. There are moments
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  when we stop moving because something has become
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  good enough. Not God's best, just familiar enough.
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  predictable enough, safe enough, and purpose
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  becomes secondary to security. Then something
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  changes. The environment changes. The leadership
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  changes. The opportunity changes. The relationship
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  changes. The resources change. The door that
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  used to open easily becomes difficult. And immediately
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  we assume something is wrong. Maybe. But sometimes
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  something is changing because your season is
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  changing. What if God is allowing you to become
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  uncomfortable because comfort has become stronger
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  than calling? Abraham had to leave. God told
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  Abram, go from your country, your people and
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  your father's household to the land I will show
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  you. Notice, God did not initially give Abraham
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  the entire map. He gave him direction. Go. There
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  are seasons when purpose requires leaving familiarity
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  before you possess complete information about
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  the destination. That requires faith. We want,
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  God, show me everything, show me where, show
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  me how, show me when, show me who will help me,
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  show me how it will end, then I will move. But
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  sometimes God says, move, and I will show you.
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  That is uncomfortable, but faith often begins
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  where certainty ends. Joseph's places kept changing.
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  Think again about Joseph, his father's house,
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  the pit, Potiphar's house, prison, the palace.
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  Every place was different, and every place developed
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  something. At home, Joseph had the dream. In
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  Potiphar's house, he learned responsibility.
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  In prison, he exercised leadership without status.
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  In the palace, those earlier lessons suddenly
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  mattered. What looked like disconnected places
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  were actually forming one person. Joseph did
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  not know while managing Potiphar's household
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  that one day he would manage Egypt's resources.
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  But God knew. This is why you must be careful
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  about despising temporary places. Temporary does
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  not mean meaningless. Maybe you are not where
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  you ultimately belong. But there may still be
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  something where you are that you need for where
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  you are going. Don't leave before you learn.
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  This is another danger. Sometimes we become so
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  focused on leaving an uncomfortable season that
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  we fail to receive what the season came to teach.
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  We say, God, get me out. And perhaps God is saying,
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  before I get you out, I need to get something
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  out of you. Maybe impatience. Maybe pride. Maybe
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  fear. Maybe dependency upon people's approval.
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  Maybe lack of discipline. Maybe inability to
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  work with difficult people. Maybe an uncontrolled
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  tongue. Maybe poor boundaries. Maybe insecurity.
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  Because if God changes the location without changing
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  the person, sometimes we simply recreate the
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  same problem in a new place. You can leave Egypt
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  geographically while Egypt remains inside you.
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  And Israel demonstrated this repeatedly in the
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  wilderness. Their bodies had left Egypt. But
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  when pressure came, their minds kept saying,
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  let's go back. God was not only taking Israel
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  out of Egypt. He had to take Egypt out of Israel,
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  that is, refinement. The wilderness was not the
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  destination. But neither was the wilderness the
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  promise. This matters, too. Some Christians become
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  so accustomed to suffering that they almost develop
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  a theology of permanent wilderness. No. There
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  was purpose in the wilderness. There was manna.
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  There was revelation. There was dependence. There
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  was discipline. There was preparation. But there
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  was also a promised land ahead. Do not make a
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  permanent home in a place God intended as preparation.
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  The wilderness teaches you how to depend upon
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  God, but eventually dependence must accompany
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  you into promise. Sometimes the old place no
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  longer fits. Sometimes you recognize that a season
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  is ending because what once fit no longer fits.
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  The grace for it feels different. The assignment
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  feels complete. Your priorities have changed.
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  God has developed new capacity. New responsibility
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  is emerging. The old environment cannot accommodate
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  what is growing. And this is where fear becomes
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  loud. Because even an uncomfortable familiar
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  place can feel safer than an unfamiliar promise.
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  Israel literally said, let's go back to Egypt.
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  Why? Because slavery was familiar, promise was
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  uncertain. That is one of the strangest tendencies
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  of human nature. We can prefer familiar bondage
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  to unfamiliar freedom. Refinement teaches us
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  to trust God beyond familiarity. Sometimes God
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  uses opposition to keep you moving. There were
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  moments throughout Israel's history when opposition
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  drove them back toward dependence upon God. The
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  book of Judges repeatedly shows Israel wandering,
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  experiencing oppression, crying to God, and being
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  delivered. Again, we must not turn every enemy
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  into somebody God personally assigned to our
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  lives. But scripture clearly shows that God can
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  use even opposition within his disciplinary and
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  redemptive purposes. Sometimes the very thing
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  you wish would disappear is exposing how far
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  you have drifted from prayer. Sometimes pressure
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  restores priorities. Sometimes opposition reveals
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  where you place too much confidence in yourself.
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  Sometimes the situation you hate has you praying
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  again, reading scripture again, seeking God again.
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  reconsidering your decisions, reordering your
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  life. And then years later, you realize the situation
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  was painful, but God refused to waste the pain.
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  Psalm 100, 1967 says, I obeyed. Then verse 71
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  says, It was good for me to be afflicted so that
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  I might learn your decrees. The psalmist is not
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  saying pain itself is wonderful. He is recognizing
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  what God produced through it. Something changed.
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  Direction changed. Priorities changed. Obedience
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  changed. And maybe that is somebody's testimony.
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  Before this happened, I barely prayed. Before
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  this happened, I ignored warning signs. Before
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  this happened, I was too comfortable. Before
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  this happened, my priorities were confused. Before
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  this happened, I thought I could handle everything
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  myself. Then the fire came, and I began seeking
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  God differently. I love this statement from Pastor
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  Lawson Whitson from New Life Church of Jesus
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  Christ in Concord, North Carolina. If it made
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  you pray, it wasn't bad at all. So perhaps we
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  can say it this way. If what was meant to break
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  you drove you back to prayer, evil did not get
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  the final word. If the difficult season restored
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  your priorities, pain did not get the final word.
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  If losing something taught you what truly mattered,
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  loss did not get the final word. If rejection
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  pushed you toward the identity God had already
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  given you, Rejection did not get the final word.
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  If discomfort moved you from a place where you
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  had settled, discomfort did not get the final
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  word. God is still writing. Remember this principle.
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  Don't curse the place that prepared you. One
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  day Joseph could look backward differently. The
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  pit was terrible. Slavery was terrible. False
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  accusation was terrible. Prison was terrible.
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  But none of those places became wasted places.
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  Each chapter contributed something. And perhaps
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  there are places in your story you currently
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  hate. Don't romanticize them. Don't call evil
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  good. But don't conclude too quickly that nothing
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  valuable can come from them. You may one day
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  discover that you learned something there you
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  needed somewhere else. the patience, the discipline,
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  the leadership, the discernment, the prayer life,
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  the boundaries, the humility, the resilience,
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  the dependence upon God. The place may have been
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  temporary, but the lesson may become permanent.
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  Maybe, only maybe, God is moving you. So ask
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  yourself, am I fighting to remain somewhere because
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  God is telling me to stay? or because I am afraid
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  to move? Am I calling something spiritual warfare
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  when perhaps a season is ending? Am I trying
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  to reopen a door God allowed to close? Am I asking
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  God to restore comfort when He is developing
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  movement, but also ask, am I trying to leave
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  simply because staying requires maturity? Am
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  I interpreting correction as rejection? Am I
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  running from a place God is using to develop
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  me? Those questions require prayer. They require
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  scripture. They require the Holy Spirit. They
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  require wisdom. Because the goal is not simply
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  to escape discomfort. The goal is to remain aligned
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  with purpose. Maybe the place is not the purpose.
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  Egypt was not Israel's purpose. The wilderness
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  was not Israel's purpose. The pit was not Joseph's
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  purpose. Potiphar's house was not Joseph's final
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  purpose. Prison was not Joseph's final purpose.
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  Those were places within the process. Do not
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  confuse your current location with the conclusion
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  of your story. Maybe you are in a place of preparation.
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  Maybe a place of correction. Maybe a place of
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  healing. Maybe a place of waiting. Maybe a place
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  where God is teaching you what you will need
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  later. Maybe a place you are being prepared to
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  leave. But wherever you are, ask, God, what is
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  this season producing in me? Because if God is
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  refining you there, the place is not wasted.
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  Sometimes, God makes the place uncomfortable.
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  Maybe you have been asking God, Why did this
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  change? Why did something that once felt peaceful
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  become difficult? Why did something that once
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  fit suddenly feel too small? Why did circumstances
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  shift? Why did the old place stop feeling like
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  home? Sometimes there is no simple answer, but
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  sometimes God is moving you. Not because the
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  previous season was necessarily bad, but because
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  its assignment may be complete. The place that
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  preserved you may not be the place that fulfills
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  you. The place that healed you may not be the
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  place where you build. The place where you learned
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  may not be the place where you lead. The place
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  where you were hidden may not be the place where
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  you remain. And sometimes, God must disturb what
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  we have settled into, because purpose is calling
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  us forward. So don't worship comfort. Don't worship
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  familiarity. Don't worship stability. Worship
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  God. If he says stay, stay faithfully. If he
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  says grow, grow patiently. If he says wait, wait
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  faithfully. If he says return, return humbly.
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  And if he says move, move courageously. Because
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  sometimes the discomfort is not evidence that
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  God has abandoned you. Sometimes it is evidence
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  that the season is changing. You are not being
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  destroyed. You are being repositioned. You are
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  not being forgotten. You are being prepared.
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  You are not wandering without purpose. God is
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  teaching you to discern His movement. And even
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  in uncomfortable places, you are being refined
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  for a purpose. This is Pomoja Ministry. And in
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  our next conversation, we will go even deeper
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  into Joseph's revelation. Because eventually
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  Joseph looked at the people who betrayed him
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  and understood something extraordinary. They
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  had an intention, but God had a purpose. Conversation
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  9. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for
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  good.