Devotions from John Ortberg’s book, The Me I Want to Be

We may desire a problem-free life, but that would be death by boredom. IT is in working to solve problems and overcome challenges that we become the person God wants us to be.  Every problem is an invitation from the Spirit, and when we say yes, we are in the flow.  Let us ask for a task to keep us learning and growing.  Faith is an amazing life-giver. Optimistic faith-filled people may live a decade longer than people with a negative attitude. Caleb was one of the twelve scouts who explored the Promise land and at 85  was not detoured by what he saw. He wanted to go after the most difficult enemy in the hill country, not a condo at Shalom Acres!  God has wired us so that our bodies, minds and spirits require challenges and causes greater than ourselves.  “Challenges undertaken for the greater good bind us to people. The pursuit of comfort, however, leads to isolation-and isolation is terminal.” 
Life is not about comfort. It is about saying, “God, Give me another mountain.” Our mountain will not look like anyone else and has our name on it.  It will tap into our greatest strengths and passions.

May our deepest longing be to be alive with God, to become the person God made us to be, and to be used of God help God’s world flourish.  He wants to shape us not only to be His servant but His friend.