Leaving Comfort to Follow God

There are times in every believer’s life when God begins to lead them forward into something new. Often, the greatest obstacle is not opposition, fear, or lack of ability — it is comfort. What is familiar can feel safe, predictable, and secure, but sometimes the very thing that feels comfortable is the thing preventing growth.

Following God has always required movement. When Jesus called His disciples, they had to leave their nets, their routines, and the life they knew in order to walk with Him. When God spoke to Abraham, he was told to leave his country and go to a place God would show him. Each step forward required a willingness to release what was familiar in order to embrace what God had prepared.

True abandonment is not reckless, emotional, or irresponsible. It is not about discarding people or running from responsibilities. It is about obedience. It is about being willing to release whatever the Spirit of God reveals is holding you back — even when it feels uncomfortable.

Sometimes we must abandon old thinking. The mindset that once shaped our decisions may not be able to carry us into the next level of growth. Scripture reminds us that transformation begins with the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). Growth often begins when we allow God to reshape how we see ourselves, our situation, and our future.

Sometimes we must abandon old habits. Patterns that once seemed harmless can quietly keep us from moving forward. God calls us higher, and progress often requires leaving behind behaviors that no longer align with who we are becoming.

At times, we must also abandon environments or influences that pull us backward instead of pushing us forward. The call of God always leads toward growth, clarity, and purpose — never stagnation.

Even Jesus demonstrated this principle. He temporarily left the glory of heaven to fulfill the will of God on earth. Abraham left familiarity. The disciples left security. Paul left his former life. Each step of obedience required letting go, but each step also led to greater purpose.

The rich young ruler, however, could not do it. When Jesus told him to release what he trusted in and follow Him, he walked away sorrowful because he was unwilling to abandon his comfort. His story reminds us that holding on too tightly to what is familiar can prevent us from stepping into what God has prepared.

Growth does not mean dissatisfaction with where we are. Scripture teaches us to be content, but it also shows that we are called to move from faith to faith and from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). We thank God for how far He has brought us, but we remain willing to keep growing.

When God calls you forward, it may feel unfamiliar. It may stretch you. It may require faith. But what God has ahead is always greater than what you must leave behind.

Be willing to release the old so you can walk into the new.

Run Your Appointed Course

Life has rules. If you refuse to play by them, you will never get anywhere. The Bible makes that plain, and it does not apologize for it. Paul told Timothy, “When the going gets rough, don’t be soft… Take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did.” He goes on to say, “An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere” (2 Timothy 2:1–5, Message). That is a rule of the game right there. You cannot ignore God’s order and expect God’s results.

One of the first rules is this: you can’t quit. Believers cannot have “glass jaws.” We cannot collapse every time life hits us. The Word shows us how to live. “Do you see what this means?… It means we’d better get on with it… start running—and never quit!… Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it” (Hebrews 12:1–3, Message). That is not just encouragement, that is instruction. The enemy wants you focused on the fight, focused on the punch, focused on the pain. But if you will keep your eyes on Jesus and where you’re headed, you will get back up again and again. Jesus endured because He stayed focused. “He never lost sight of where he was headed” (Hebrews 12:2, Message). Focus is a rule. Quitting is not an option.

Another rule is that you must run your own course. Hebrews calls it “the appointed course of the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, Amplified Classic). That means God has a course for your life, and your course is not somebody else’s course. Many people stay frustrated because they keep trying to run another man’s race. They chase what looks popular. They chase what pays more money. They chase what they “like.” But that is not how a believer makes decisions. Prosperity is not merely increase; prosperity is being in the will of God and being a doer of the Word. God has a place called “there” for every one of us, and the blessings of God are connected to that place.

So how do you discover your course? God does not leave His children in the dark. “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard… all that God has prepared… for those who love Him… Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit; for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently… even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10, Amplified Classic). God has good things prepared, and the Holy Spirit is the One who reveals them. That is why we must live led. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). You cannot live confused and call it normal. God is not the author of confusion, and He wants His people walking in clarity.

But here is another rule of the game: you must guard yourself from the spirit of this world. Scripture says, “Now we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God” (1 Corinthians 2:12, Amplified Classic). The world has a spirit, and it carries ideologies, desires, and patterns that contaminate a believer’s discernment. That is why you must watch what you feed on day after day. If you are always engrossed in the natural—social media, entertainment, opinions, and noise—then when it is time to hear God, you will be dull. You will say, “Is that God or is that me?” The more time you spend with God, the more you recognize God. That is not a suggestion. That is a rule.

So don’t be soft. Don’t quit. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Run the course God appointed for you. Stay led by the Spirit, and keep the spirit of this world off of you. If you will play by the rules, you will get to the finish line, and you will arrive where God pre-ordained for you to be.

Delighting in the Word

Many believers desire to live a blessed life, but blessing is connected to honor. It is connected to what we delight in and how we respond to the Word of God. The Word of God is very clear about this. Psalm 1 tells us, “Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man… but his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law he habitually meditates by day and by night” (Psalm 1:1–2, Amplified Classic). The blessed man is not simply someone who hears the Word—he is someone who delights in it.

That raises an important question: do we delight in the Word, or do we despise it? Because the Bible also tells us, “Whoever despises the word and counsel of God brings destruction upon himself; but he who reverently fears and respects the commandments of God is rewarded” (Proverbs 13:13, Amplified Classic). People want the reward, but they don’t always want the commandment. They want the blessing, but they resist correction. That is not how the kingdom works.

When a person despises the Word, they eventually cease from being doers of the Word. When the Word is ignored, doors open that should have remained closed. God’s Word is given for our protection, but it cannot protect someone who refuses to honor it. We do not get to pick and choose which parts of God’s Word we want to obey. It is not “I like this book but not that one,” or “I receive this promise but reject this instruction.” The Word of God is covenant. We must embrace all of it.

Yes, some parts of the Word will challenge us. Loving your neighbor, having to forgive someone over and over, staying separate from the world and sin, and choosing obedience when it costs you something are not always easy. We cannot despise the Word because it keeps our flesh in line. The Word was not given to restrict us. It was given to preserve us.

Psalm 1 shows us the result of delighting in the Word. The person who meditates on the Word becomes stable and fruitful. He becomes like a tree planted by rivers of water. That kind of life does not come from occasional exposure. Many believers only engage in the Word when it appears on a screen in church, and that is why growth remains limited. Strength comes from continually feeding on the Word of God. Increase comes when the Word becomes part of us, not something we visit from time to time.

This is not a message of condemnation. It is a call to examine our lives. If we can go for days without the Word and feel no hunger for it, something is off. If the only time we open the Word is when someone else opens it for us, something needs to change. The Word is not just information we seek; it is life. It is the key to the Blessed life.

So, ask yourself: what is your attitude toward the Word of God? Do you delight in it, or do you despise it? If you will delight yourself in the Word, the fruit of it will be evident and your life will go from one level of glory to another. That is the will of God. The path of the just is a shining light that grows brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18). Stay with God and His Word. Your life will never be the same when you do.

Are You The Strong Man?

When the strong man, fully armed, [from his courtyard] guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed [his property is at peace and is secure].

But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil).

Luke 11: 21-22 Amplified Bible Classic

Are you the strong man? As believers we are stronger than the devil. I John 4:4 tells us:

Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

Having Jesus on the inside of us already puts us in a position of authority over the enemy. Despite that spiritual reality, many are still at the mercy of their enemy. Many are sick, broke, and oppressed because they don’t know who they are in Christ. It is important for us to know who we are because that is how we overcome. We overcome through knowledge.

Proverbs 24:5 tells us that a wise man is strong and is better than a strong man, and a man of knowledge increases and strengthens his power.

People are losing every day because of a lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 tells us that God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. People also lose because they have knowledge and do not act on the knowledge they have. It is so important that we continue to accumulate knowledge. Colossians 1:10 Amplified Bible Classic Edition:

That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and [j]desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, [k]acquaintance, and recognition].

We are to grow and become more through knowledge. God wants us to become more and more. Better and better. That comes through knowledge. In today’s world, it is important what type of church you attend. You want to attend a church that is going to give you knowledge that will cause you to overcome in every area of your life. It is important to listen to men and women who will teach you the foundational truths and principles of the Word of God. God wants us to overcome, but we must overcome through knowledge. The person who increases his knowledge, increases his strength. Are you the strong man?