Comfort is the Enemy of Success

Comfort is the Enemy of Success

By Drenda Keesee

Have you ever heard this quote: “Comfort is the enemy of success”?

There are so many phrases in our culture that use the word comfort as a positive, but God didn’t create us to be comfortable. He challenges us to get uncomfortable, so we can go out and do the impossible.

Over the years, Gary and I have both been called outside of our comfort levels and outside of our abilities as well. That’s because God is not going to give us assignments that we can walk out on our own. He’s going to push us to do things that only He can help us achieve.

Marriage and family are two of God’s most amazing blessings, but they can also be challenging assignments.

When Gary and I first got married, over 35 years ago, we were both…

naive.

We thought, Hey, we love God; it’s gonna be all good… right? Ha!

Of course, loving God is important, but that doesn’t mean you just put up your feet and get comfy. Like any good thing, it takes work to keep a family together and strong, especially when storms come against you.

Now, as you may know, Gary and I are no strangers to challenging circumstances.

You’ve probably heard our story—years ago, we lived hand-to-mouth. For nine very long years, we were in financial chaos. We were living in a small, broken-down, 1800s farmhouse, complete with weeds growing through the broken windowpanes and trying to raise five children! We owed on two rusted-out, bent up, high mileage cars, 10 maxed-out credit cards, three finance company loans, back taxes … it was a nightmare.

That was also a difficult time in our marriage. Gary was sick during those days, and we were both miserable because we were in a state of constant financial stress.

I’m sure many of you know that financial stress can create a lot of marital pressure.

Luckily, no matter how much pressure or discord there is, God is always ready and willing to help us get things back on track!

Once Gary and I began to look to God’s Word to see what He said about marriage and family and learned to unleash the Kingdom of God in our family AND in our finances, it was like a light switch was turned on!

In less than three years, we were completely out of debt, and we went from surviving our marriage to thriving as a husband and wife, and as parents. 

Why???

Because we were doing it God’s way!

I want you to know, no matter where you are in your marriage, God wants to take you even further!

God has more for you than just being comfortable. He wants your family to excel in its purpose. Once Gary and I got on the same page, started praying, and expecting answers, we received instructions on the next steps in our assignment every single time.

Now, I’m not saying there weren’t challenges, but once we stopped trying to do it ourselves and realized that we needed to go to God for everything, and do it His way, that was the moment everything changed.

We started new businesses during that time that have only kept growing. We paid cash for our cars, cash for our 55 acres of land, and built and paid for our new home.

If we hadn’t gone to God for the vision, we never would have been able to do all those things. Part of providing your family with security is making sure you’re being consistent with God’s vision.

His vision should be the compass for all of the decisions you and your spouse make.

God brought you and your spouse together for a reason. He has an incredible plan for your life. The enemy wants to put a wedge between you and your spouse. Don’t let him! Keep the devil out of your marriage by keeping the Holy Spirit strong in it!

Trust God with your relationship, and turn to His Word for guidance. Read it, pray it, and speak it over your marriage.

I want to do all I can do to cheer you on, so you can have peace and happiness in your family and experience victory in any circumstance.

Once you get clear on God’s vision for your family, you can tackle your purpose and truly enjoy each step along the way.

God created you to live a life that would be a light for the world.

You must get uncomfortable to live that life. Once Gary and I got out of our comfort zones, we were able to accelerate in our God-designed purpose, AND we knew we were demonstrating faith through our actions to our children.

Instead of talking to them about being secure in God’s love and having faith in His purpose and assignment for their lives, we showed them.

Children model what they see. What are you modeling to your children every day?

_______________________________________________________

There’s so much more I want to share with you about this!

You need real answers to the modern-day struggles we face as parents. This is a crucial mentorship that offers both the practical and spiritual actions you need to enjoy the promises of God in your family.

So, don’t wait! Request your copy of the New Vintage Family limited edition package here.

With this offer, you’ll also receive my Make It Fun mentorship CD, and Your Love Story, a powerful teaching by Gary, that will help you navigate your marriage and your finances using powerful tools like knowing your love languages and more!

God wants to take your family to places beyond your wildest dreams this year.

I believe these resources will help you get uncomfortable, so you can start seeing the “impossible” as wonderful opportunities that God put in front of you.

Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.

A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.

Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.

Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide, and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary, and Drenda.

Through their own life experiences, the Keesees have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.

That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.

She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.