Like me, do you ever catch yourself craving comfort? I do, more often than I would like to admit and I think it’s highly unlikely that you don’t, like who doesn’t crave comfort, right? The word “craving” sounds feminine and funny to me, Lol, in fact I told someone that just yesterday, but that’s by the way. 

It’s so easy to want the soft, easy version of reality, the one that doesn’t challenge us, that lets us stay right where we are, in our comfort zone, unbothered, but if you really think about it, staying in your comfort zone, and choosing comfort over truth, has a way of coming back to bite us, maybe not every time but it does come back to let use know we were wrong to do that.

One of the many things about the truth is that it has a way of demanding to be seen. It doesn’t care about our feelings, our fears, or how badly we wish something was different. But here is another thing I’ve also learnt, that when I chase, seek and stand for the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it shakes me up, that’s when I find real peace. The kind that actually lasts.

So, I want you to ask yourself this question: do I want the comfort of a lie, or the deep, unshakable strength of truth? If I don’t stand for the truth, then what am I even standing on?

Before you get caught up in mixed feelings, I would love for you, when you are done to read this article I wrote sometime ago about truth:

Many of us in one way or another are adamant about being a voice for what’s right from a religious standpoint or a fairness/justice standpoint. In my conversations with friends and acquaintances within my social circle over the last month, I’ve concluded that a large percentage of them prefer to go along with the flow and turn off what they perceive to be “wrong” that they encounter, rather than standing for the truth regardless of how they feel.

and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. – John 8:32

Can you really say you know the truth; If you can’t stand up for it?

And can you really say you are free; If you can’t stand up for knowing the truth?

Is there any way to stand up for what is right while at the same time not stand against what is wrong? Some believe that and have no publicly proclaimed stand against error, but they have an inner commitment to the truth. There is a generation of preachers/teachers/students/people who are unable to resist the gaze of ridicule which is why they adopt an uncompromising, non-negative, and not controversial, position in the pulpit/class and environment. 

The “for nothing” and “against nothing” attitude isn’t an oath-taking position for the Lord (Matt. 12:30). 

Continue Reading: Standing For The Truth Regardless Of How You Feel

Standing For The Truth

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

C. S. Lewis

It is the quote by C.S Lewis that has been making me ponder since today, about truth and standing for truth. And in my head over and over and over again, I have broken this quote in segments and that is precisely what I want us to talk about today.

And so again:

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

C. S. Lewis

• “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end;”
• “If you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth”
• “Only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin,”
• “And in the end, despair.”

If You Look For Truth

If You Look for Truth, You May Find Comfort in the End

I keep coming back to this idea, truth first, comfort later. Seems like a hard one to live by, right? Because let’s be real, sometimes, truth is rarely comfortable in the moment. It shakes us up, challenges what we think we know, and forces us to confront things we would rather avoid, but like I said, every time I’ve chosen to face the truth, no matter how much it stung, I’ve found something deeper on the other side, real peace.

I used to think primarily that comfort was the goal, to feel safe, reassured, and certain, but comfort without truth? That’s just an illusion, a warm lie that will eventually turn cold, but again, I’ve learnt that if I chase truth, even when it’s inconvenient, even when it forces me to change, that is when I actually find comfort, not the hard to find, hard to catch and the unsettling kind, but the kind that settles deep in my bones; the kind that lasts.

Think about it, when have you ever lied to yourself about a situation, a person, or even who you are just to feel better? Did it really work? Or did it just delay the inevitable? And I’m not talking about words of affirmation. The truth always has a way of catching up, but when we choose to face it head-on, we take back control! We grow! We become stronger! And eventually, we find a sense of peace that no amount of avoidance or wishful thinking could ever provide.

So, I want to remind you today, as I intend to remind myself everyday from today: Seek truth first! Let it be uncomfortable! Let it stretch you! Because in the end, that’s where real comfort lives.

If You Look For Comfort

If You Look for Comfort, You Will Not Get Either Comfort or Truth

Have you ever caught yourself just wanting things to feel okay? Like, maybe if you ignore the hard stuff, distract yourself, or tell yourself a nice little story, everything will just be fine? Me too. Been there, done that, but the problem is this; that kind of comfort is a lie.

Every time I’ve chased comfort first, from avoiding a tough conversation, ignoring a gut feeling, or convincing myself something was “not a big deal” it always backfired, at first, it feels nice, like slipping into a warm bed while it’s raining heavily and very cold outside, a familiar lie, but eventually, reality catches up, and suddenly, I don’t have comfort or the truth. Just regret!!!!!!! Oh I can’t begin to list them. And again, I don’t have comfort or the truth. 

And honestly? That’s worse because now, not only do I have to face the truth I avoided, but I also have to deal with the damage done by avoiding it. The longer you run from truth, the harder it hits when it finally finds you, the harder you fall.

But when we choose truth first, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it wrecks us for a moment, we do find peace. Maybe not right away, but eventually and it’s a different kind of peace; it’s not the fragile, not the temporary kind that crumbles when reality knocks, but something deeper. Something real, or like I like to say sharp and legit.

So I remind myself (and now, you too): if all I want is comfort, I’ll end up with nothing, but if I have the courage to face the truth first, comfort, the real kind, will come to stay, maybe not sooner but eventually.

Only Soft Soap and Wishful Thinking to Begin

You know that feeling when you tell yourself exactly what you want to hear? Not because it’s true, but because it’s easier? Yes, that feeling, I’ve been there more times than I would like to admit.

Again, it feels nice but it is reassuring hug from a lie. “It’ll all work itself out.” “It’s not that bad.” “Maybe if I just wait a little longer, things will change.” And for a while, I believed it. Because why wouldn’t I? It’s comfortable. It saves me from having to deal with the hard stuff, but the thing about soft soap and wishful thinking is that it doesn’t last. 

And this wishful thinking can continue, and continue and keep us going round in a circle, and that’s the trap. We want to believe that avoiding the truth will somehow make it go away; that if we pretend long enough, things will magically fall into place, but the truth? The truth doesn’t bend to wishful thinking. It just waits and the longer we ignore it, the heavier it gets, it can become a burden that becomes harder and harder to carry as the day goes by.

I’ve learnt, the hard way, that the sooner I face what’s real, the better. No more sugar coating. No more “maybe and laters,” because the cost of lying to myself, even in small, comforting ways, is always more than the cost of facing the truth head-on.

So now, when I catch myself reaching for soft soap and empty hope, I stop. I remind myself: Truth first!!! And Always!!! Because bubbles from the soup will pop, but reality? That stick, and sometimes very hard, and I woul rather deal with it now than drown in it later.

And In The End, Despair

Have you ever lied to yourself for so long that, by the time the truth finally hits, it’s unbearable? Yeah, I can’t think of a “me too” moment for this, Lol, I’m sure there is. I just can’t bring myself to think of one at the moment.

The little lies we tell ourselves feel harmless; the soft excuses; the wishful thinking, and for a while, it works, until it doesn’t, because reality doesn’t care how long you ignore it. It just keeps building, and waiting for the moment when it all comes crashing down. And when that moment comes; that is where the despair kicks in, and sometimes very hard. Not just because of the truth itself, but very much, also, because of all the time you wasted running from it. The what-ifs, the should-haves, the weight of realizing you made things worse by pretending they weren’t there.

I know that feeling too and I hate it; that sinking, pit-in-the-stomach, void in your heart, regret that whispers, you knew better, you should have done better, you just didn’t want to face it.

The hardest part is when you realize that thing, that comfort you were chasing all along, never really existed; it was just an illusion, a delay tactic, and now, not only do you have to face the truth, but you have to do it exhausted, broken, and wishing you had faced it sooner.

So, today, henceforth, and moving, I will continue to remind myself of this every time I feel tempted to take the easy road, to avoid the hard conversations, to put off dealing with something I know will come back around, because, now, I will rather face the truth early, raw and real, head-on, than let it build into something so heavy it becomes a burden and crashes me.

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Conclusion

If there is one thing I want us to know and keep in mind, it’s this: truth will always be there, whether we face it now or let it catch up to us later, and the longer we run from it, the worse it feels when it finally arrives.

So, chasing comfort first? That’s a trap, because at best, it gives me soft soap and wishful thinking; it is a temporary relief, a little borrowed time, and it never lasts. Eventually, the truth breaks through, and if we have spent too long avoiding it, all that’s left is regret. And in the end, despair.

So this is my reminder to myself, and to you: Don’t chase the easy way out1 Don’t settle for feel-good illusions! Face the truth, even when it’s hard! Because if we do that, real comfort, the very kind that actually lasts, will find us in the end.

Remember: Despair doesn’t come from the truth itself; it comes from running from it. And I don’t want to run anymore and neither should you.