This article is connected to our, In My Father’s House Bible Study. Click here for the table of contents.

A few years ago, I decided to do the “Couch to 5K.” I guess that’s the Canadian way of saying, “Couch to 3.1 miles.”

I had gone through the program before, so I knew what to expect. I knew there would be days when my legs felt heavy, my breathing was laboured, and every minute felt like a week.

But I heard what they say about running: “Once you get into it, you start to love it!”

I even heard it can be addicting.

And so, I tried. Every day, I wondered whether tomorrow might be the day I’d fall in love with running, but that day never came.

Every single run was difficult for me.

It was physically exhausting, but perhaps even more challenging was the mental struggle to keep going day after day. That voice is relentless at times, isn’t it?

You tell yourself yes, but your body says no.

You decide to continue, but your flesh wants to stop.

You say, “Just do it!” but it says, “Just don’t!”

Day after day, I resisted the voice, and each time it got a little bit weaker until it finally stopped.

I did reach my goal, by the way. It took longer than the nine weeks outlined in the plan, and it was harder than it had been before. But once I completed the program, I was better for having gone through it.

My endurance increased. I had more energy. I could run for a while without losing my breath.

The bottom line is that physical training is difficult work, even painful at times.

We all know that. In fact, we presume it will come with some pain. But for some reason, we assume that spiritual growth will be different.

We expect surrender to feel natural, forgiveness to come quickly, and obedience to be free of fear. We assume that once we know the right thing to do, doing it should be easy.

But knowing what is right doesn’t silence the struggle within us.

Sometimes the hardest arguments are the ones no one else can hear.

The Bible describes this struggle plainly: “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other” (Galatians 5:17, NIV).

One part of us wants to obey God, but another part wants to stay in our comfort zone.

We see this kind of inner struggle in the life of Esther.

When Esther decided to approach the king on behalf of her people, she knew that she was risking her life. Even so, she called for a fast, gathered her courage, and moved forward in obedience.

Her words, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16, NIV), remind us that the faithful move forward in spite of fear and unease.

She didn’t pretend the danger wasn’t there.

She simply chose to obey.

Part of spiritual maturity is learning to become more comfortable with discomfort. That doesn’t mean becoming comfortable with sin. It means becoming familiar enough with the feeling of resistance that we don’t immediately give in to it.

That little burn inside us—the fear of moving forward, the craving for an old habit, the pull toward laziness, the flash of a hot temper, the pain of ending an affair, or the sting of jealousy—doesn’t need to be relieved. Sometimes we simply need to let it be uncomfortable while we choose to obey God.

The Bible tells us, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, NIV).

Our problem is that we often assume we must satisfy the craving or obey the feeling in order to quiet the voice. And yes, giving in may quiet it for a moment, but it does nothing to strengthen us or change what is happening within us. In fact, it usually makes that voice stronger the next time it speaks.

As the Holy Spirit prepares us for eternity, He is teaching us to stand firm, to walk by faith, and to lean on His strength when we’re weak.

The discomfort we’re trying to escape may be the very place where the Holy Spirit is doing a work within us. And while the process might be difficult at times, we can trust that every movement of His hand is for our good. He is refining us, strengthening us, and forming us into the likeness of Christ.

Resistance may feel uncomfortable, but discomfort won’t last forever.

The craving will pass.

The anger will cool.

And fear will loosen its grip.

This article is connected to our, In My Father’s House Bible Study. Continue studying God’s Word with the complete book, available now on Amazon.

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