Being Uncomfortable

Discomfort is something we instinctively try to avoid. Waking up early for liturgy feels

uncomfortable. Finishing schoolwork is uncomfortable. Even waking up just ten minutes earlier

to read the Agbeya can feel like a burden. Yet in our pursuit of comfort, we often forget the one

who chose discomfort for us.

Christ, our Lord, endured the cross out of love for us. And while He calls us to carry our cross

with Him, He never asks us to do so alone. We often imagine that God is asking us to bear an

impossible weight when in reality, He is the one carrying the majority of the weight. Our role is

small, but it is important. “We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

It is like a child helping Baba carry groceries—holding one side of the bag, feeling involved,

while the father bears the true weight. Not because the father needs help, but because he desires

his child to walk beside him. In the same way, our Heavenly Father invites us into a life that may

feel uncomfortable at times, not to burden us, but to draw us closer to Him.

This small willingness to embrace discomfort: waking up a little earlier, making time for prayer,

choosing effort over ease, is where transformation begins. When we let go of comfort and choose

to walk with Christ, we begin to see that His strength already supports every step we take.

In those moments of hardship and struggle, we forget the depth of the grace our Lord pours out

on us. We forget that through Him, we are renewed.

St. Paul reminds us of this truth in Ephesians:

“That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man, which grows corrupt

according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put

on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:22-24

Being renewed in Christ means turning away from the “old man,” the part of us that pulls us

away from God. The old man, who is corrupted by deceitful desires, is to be renewed in the spirit

of our minds by putting on the new man, created to be like God in righteousness and holiness.

True repentance requires clarity and self-control; just as overeating dulls the body, constant

indulgence dulls the soul. We must ask ourselves whether our desires are guiding us and whether

we are giving the old man what he wants. Renewal is not only a spiritual struggle or a physical

one it requires both body and spirit working together so the old man is overcome and Christ can

renew us.

He carries the greater weight, we are invited to trust Him and lean on Him daily, especially when

our thoughts try to pull us backward. When shame whispers that we are unworthy, God reminds

us that we are redeemed. When fear tells us we are stuck, God calls us forward. He does not ask

us to relive our failures; He asks us to walk confidently in the grace He has already given us.

As we begin this new semester, let this be a fresh start and an intentional choice to put off the old

man and put on the new man. Let us fix our eyes not on the stains of the past, but on the clean

state the Lord has already given us. Each day becomes an opportunity to walk in renewal, to

grow, and to become more aligned with who God is shaping us to be.

Let us live with hearts rooted in gratitude, thanking our Lord for all He has already done and for

all He has saved us from. Gratitude shifts our focus from our failures to God’s faithfulness. The

enemy wants us to dwell on what went wrong and believe that our past is stronger than God’s

grace. But when we fix our eyes on the Lord, we begin to see the good set before us: the

blessings, the growth, and the hope that come from walking with Him.

God is not finished with us. He who carries us forward is faithful, and what lies ahead is far

greater than what lies behind.

“If you want to succeed, don’t think about your weakness. Rather think about the power of God.”

- Pope Shenouda III