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By Richard Gazowsky

Most of our lives are spent seeking to be comfortable with our surroundings, neighbors, family, working conditions and even driving conditions. Being comfortable can sometimes become our life’s obsession. But over the last few years, the Lord has been showing me that true progress, advancement and happiness is found in learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. This message is especially important to owners, CEO’s and those in powerful leadership because many times our decisions are based solely on our personal preferences and these preferences are determined by how comfortable we feel with an issue at hand.

At the same time, most of you that are in leadership positions realize that the context of the situation that you are in and the expectations you may have concerning it can determine the level of comfort that you feel. The root element that we all face is that being comfortable is actually a matter of control. If you are the one booking the restaurant with a great BBQ but completely shoddy bench seats, you may feel comfortable with the choice because you know the restaurant, and that despite it’s seating situation it is a good choice because the taste of the spicy BBQ far outweighs the discomfort of the seats. Of course, if I’m your guest and I don’t like the seats and I can’t stand the taste of spicy BBQ, then I am now at an additional level of discomfort.

Nowhere is this more acute than when it comes to following God. The prophet Isaiah said, “For the Lord’s ways are not like our ways, as high as the heavens are above the Earth, so are His ways above our ways.” Isaiah was not just being metaphorical, for this is a real dynamic truth that each Christian faces. Now let me cut to the chase: Most of the time you will have to go through a process that will push you, literally, to the limits of your activity and effort. When Thomas Edison was developing a filament for the light bulb, his main problem was finding a filament that could last more than a few seconds. After going through three thousand different types of metals, he attempted to follow the advice of a friend with a bamboo shoot. It seemed almost ridiculous to attempt using something organic in a metal object. But when he placed the bamboo shoot between the positive and negative poles, it not only lit up for hours, but lasted for days! I recently heard of a man who had closed a closet in the 1930’s and then opened up the door recently to see the bamboo shoot light-bulb in the light socket, still burning over sixty years later. When they turned it off, however, the filament disintegrated. I believe it is this way for those following the words of the Lord over their lives. We try so many things, and then the most unexpected of all things is the one that works. As I mentioned in an earlier letter, sometimes it is the most unexpected thing that ends up becoming the main event.

Our youth group has been scheduled to minister in Germany. Suddenly, through a day vision and some confirmations, God spoke to us about doing location scouting at the “Smallest Kingdom in the World.” To our amazement, the smallest kingdom in the world is actually only an hour and 45 minutes away from the place our youth are scheduled to speak next week. Since we are now gearing up to shoot a 70-mm musical with the P-65 Abraham camera, we realized that the main event may not be the youth ministering, but may rather be us preparing to do this big shoot. I find events and scheduling like this to be very uncomfortable and I’ve discovered that pre-determined plans give me a sense of comfort and control. This is the issue that God is dealing with; it appears that God’s ways are laced with mystery and unpredictability and it is especially the unpredictability that makes us feel like we are sitting on the edge of a knife. I am currently the temporary campaign manager for Ken Miller during his Gubernatorial run for the State of California. A few months ago, I felt the Lord strongly impress me to go to a prayer meeting in Los Angeles. At this prayer meeting, to which I was tardy, I met David Andrade and Rick Wright. To my amazement, they were putting together a coalition of churches statewide to alert the churches about candidates who are conservative Christians running for office. The link happened immediately and I was able to facilitate Ken’s being plugged into this massive voting block of Christians. I never would have expected this to be the result of a simple prayer meeting, but I am discovering that in the timings of God, the tiniest meeting can result in massive movement.

So, in conclusion, let me be extremely honest with you. I have discovered that I do not think like God. I never will, and most of the things He is asking me to do make me feel uncomfortable. I realize that for years as a leader I was only doing that which made me feel good, and by doing so, I was actually working against the will of God. Today, I am often uncomfortable. I don’t know if this is a temporary situation or if it’s going to be a permanent existence, but I also realize that I am now having extremely satisfying moments when I experience the results of an action that God initiated, and the following joy is completely overwhelming. It has made me the richest man in the world because the satisfaction is found completely in Him. So, to you fellow travelers, try it. Try being comfortable with the uncomfortable, and you may just enjoy it.

Richard Gazowsky pastors a church in San Francisco called The Voice of Pentecost, and is also president of Christian WYSIWYG Filmworks. He has directed the films, “Guardians” and “The Roman Trilogy.”