There's a worship song that stops me every time I hear it.
The lyrics include:
Let me never lose the wonder of your presence.
May I always stand in awe of who you are.
But how often do we let this happen? Not just with God, but with other things in our lives? When did great become good? When did awesome become just... some?
The lyrics continue:
So I let go of lesser things.
That's the whole thing right there. That's the prayer that should be written on every wall, every heart, every decision we make.
Because here's what I've learned: when your "great" becomes good, when the things that used to amaze you become routine, expected, or comfortable, that's the most dangerous place you can be. Emotionally. Psychologically. Financially. Romantically. Relationally.
It's the most dangerous place in any area of your life.
The Numbness
When we become comfortable, we become numb.
When we become numb, the things we worked for and sacrificed our entire lives to achieve and obtain become so expected, so taken for granted, that we no longer fear the consequences of losing them.
Think about what that means. Really think about it.
You built a marriage. You showed up every day. You fought for it. You invested in it. It became great. And then, over time, it became good. Comfortable. Expected. And now you're numb to it. You take it for granted. You stop fighting for it because you believe it's permanent. It's yours. You've won.
And then one day you realize your partner has been invisible to you for years. The distance has become a chasm. And you're shocked. Devastated. But how could you be shocked? You built this numbness yourself.
Or maybe it's your business. You started with fire in your belly. Every customer was a victory. Every sale was a miracle. Every problem was an opportunity to show your worth. And then you succeeded. The business became great. And then it became good. Comfortable. Expected. Profitable enough. And now you're numb to it. You show up. You maintain. You coast. And you wonder why your competitors are eating your lunch. Why the market is passing you by. Why the fire is gone.
Or maybe it's your faith. You came to God desperate. Broken. The presence of the Divine in your life was everything. It changed you. It saved you. It was great. And then it became good. Familiar. Expected. And now you're numb to it. You pray on autopilot. You read Scripture without seeing it. You go through the motions. And somewhere along the way, the awe dies.
The Paralysis
For many of us, this numbness, this comfort, this complacency, can be the most devastating place to be. It can paralyze us.
We stop fighting. We stop growing. We stop pushing. We stop becoming. We just maintain what we have and hope it lasts.
But it won't last. Because stagnation isn't stability. Comfort isn't safety. The moment you stop improving, you start declining. The moment you stop fighting, you start losing. Slowly. Imperceptibly. But inevitably.
And by the time you wake up and realize what's happened, it's often too late.
The Transcendence
But here's what I also know: there's another way.
For some of us, we transcend the fear. We understand something deeper. We understand that the person we've become is the type of person who can do the hard things. The type of person who has the discipline to consistently put in the effort. The type of person who understands that failure and setback isn't the period at the end of the story, but rather simply a comma in an ongoing tale.
We understand that great isn't a destination. It's a practice. It's a daily choice. It's a commitment to never let the wonder die, to never let the awe fade, to never become so comfortable that we forget how hard we fought to get here.
And so we fight. Every single day. Not because we're afraid we'll lose it all, though we should be. But because we understand that the alternative to growth is death. The alternative to improvement is decline. The alternative to pushing is falling.
The person who built this marriage is the same person who has to keep building it. The entrepreneur who created this business has to keep creating within it. The believer who found God in desperation has to keep finding God in wonder.
Comfort is the killer. But discipline is the salvation.
The Prayer
So I want to offer you two things.
First, understand this: the things you have should never be taken for granted. Never. The marriage, the family, the business, the health, the opportunity, the faith, the friendship, the platform, the resources, the time. All of it is a gift. All of it could be gone tomorrow. Stop acting like it's guaranteed. Stop acting like it's permanent. Stop acting like your comfort is your right.
Your comfort is actually your greatest threat.
Second, and this is the hard part: never be satisfied. I don't mean never be grateful. Gratitude and satisfaction are not the same thing. You can be grateful for what you have and simultaneously refuse to be satisfied with it. You can stand in awe of what you've built and simultaneously hunger to build more. You can appreciate the great without making it your ceiling.
So let go of the lesser things. Let go of the comfort. Let go of the numbness. Let go of the complacency.
Always be grateful. But never satisfied. And never, ever be comfortable.
Because the moment you become comfortable is the moment you start losing the wonder. And wonder is the only thing that keeps you alive.
