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Tbh, it was really a struggle to decide on a sermon to choose for my second blogpost (I have so many favorites). But since I started off with ‘bold faith‘ (taking the first step into the unknown), I figured I should find something to help prepare us for our journey (That’s if you are just joining me). Today’s post is inspired by a sermon titled ‘Comfort Food’ from Pastor Steven.

Pastor Steven believes that “the place that you escape to in one season, can become the place that you are enslaved by in the next.” In his chosen scriptures, Numbers 11:4-11, Genesis 41:53-55 and Luke 15, we encounter different situations that happen in our faith journey. Initially (in Genesis), the Israelites escaped famine by going to Egypt, a foreign land. At this time, it seemed like Egypt was everything they needed. Unfortunately, they became slaves in this land until God sent them Moses to free them and lead them to their promised land. To do this, they had to leave everything that they had grown accustomed to and walk into their promise which required them to take some bold steps such as, walking through the Red Sea on dry ground.

Later on in Numbers, the Israelites found themselves struggling once again. They had previously complained to God who sent them Manna in abundance, which at first was a dream come true. But as time went on, this thing that was once a blessing became a curse. This is where we meet them in today’s scripture. They became tired of this monotonous blessing called Manna to the point that they started to wish that they could go back to Egypt, to Pharaoh their master. They craved the (nice) food that Pharaoh provided them (Comfort Food!). One would wonder why these (now) free Israelites would prefer going back to Egypt where they were enslaved, mistreated and tortured. As it turns out, they had left Egypt but it was still deeply rooted in them, they still struggled with accepting their freedom. To put it into modern day context, pastor Steven explains that this comfort food (or pharaoh) represents comfort friends, social media, patterns or phrases. Things that only feed us temporarily but leave us stuck in a pattern or chain, deterring us from moving ahead. The Israelites found themselves wanting to go back to what was familiar and what they had become comfortable with instead of moving on into this promise that felt uncertain.

We already know that the unknown is uncomfortable, intimidating and very very scary. To succeed here, you may have to do the same thing over and over so that you can get better at it. It may mean that the people or the world around you will change while you struggle to succeed in this season that God has called you to. This season of your life requires you to wake up everyday with faith and leaving behind some habits, patterns or friends that were with you in your previous season. Pastor Steven explains that in Numbers 11, the complaining which started with ‘the rabble’ (these were the Egyptians that crossed over the sea with the Israelites), influenced them to look back and complain as well. This means that you may need to get rid of some people (or things) in this new season if you are going to move forward. Another thing to remember is that all you need here (in-between) is to trust God and not question his ways. He may have already promised to prosper you and lead you to success but He also doesn’t give you all the details, these will come day by day, step by step. You have to keep moving (in faith) to find out. The only thing that matters here is your perspective. You have to choose to see your life through God’s eyes.

You may be wondering, ‘how the hell am I going to do this in pain and confusion.’ I will tell you one thing, God has already equipped you with everything you need. Paul in his letter to the people in Ephesus gives us the secret to fighting these spiritual battles. You will need weapons of spiritual warfare. These are; truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God (see, Ephesians 6:10-18). So as you move forward into your promise, in that place of uncertainty commonly known as ‘in-between’, do not get comfortable. “He is using this dissatisfaction so you don’t get stuck in this place” says Pastor Steven. The goal here is to move you ahead into your destiny, don’t get stuck here. The dessert is not the place where God brought you as a final destination, its just a place where he wants to transform you (remove Egypt out of you). According to pastor Steven, the Israelites were stuck in-between. What you do here determines your future. You can either give up on looking forward to that promise and instead choose to look back and start to wish for temporary food that God only provided for you to sustain you in the seasons before or, you can make the decision to only look forward and allow God to transform you into something much better. Pastor Steven also mentions that some of the things we crave are not necessarily bad, it is where we go to get them that is the problem. So, go to God! “God has what you really want” he adds.

Lastly, using the story in Luke, Pastor Steven shows us situations where we leave the good place (our father’s place) to go into the dessert, a foreign land. The prodigal son craved wealth, pride, recognition and social status. These as we can see are only temporary comfort foods. They only lasted him a while and he ended up in a low place. Pastor Steven reminds us that we “do not belong in a low place.” The prodigal son left his father and lost himself in the world but it also took him to have courage and faith to return to his father after all he had done. Isn’t this the most amazing thing about God’s kingdom? He is always ready for us to return home to him.

Have you lost your way? Are you tired of being miserably doing things that only fill you temporarily? So am I. How about we make a vow to do everything we can to walk forward and not look back to these temporary pleasures. Like I said in my previous post, perfection isn’t promised, all you need is a willing heart. With no judgement, God will welcome you, arms wide open. He knows what you have been through, just trust Him. There is no sin too great for the salvation of God, Jesus died for you and me. It is the sole purpose for his existence. To save us sinners. You just have to take more steps towards him. You can do this, I know you can!

I pray that God may give you wisdom, courage and discernment to be able to distinguish between wrong and right. Amen!

With love and prayers,

Resty Kansiime

Here is the link to the sermon Comfort Food Comfort Food | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church – YouTube.