Negotiating with comfort

By Daniel Francis

It’s 5 a.m., and my alarm just went off. I wake up, turn to my phone, and shut off my alarm. I don’t snooze it; I shut it off. This is the typical start to my morning. From this point, I would wake up, do a short morning routine, and make my way to the gym.

This particular morning, I lay in bed, looking at the ceiling, and began debating in my head. You see, I’ve been off my daily routine, specifically the part where I go to the gym, for the last three weeks due to injury, but I am all recovered now. It is time to fall back into the usual routine, yet somehow a negotiation begins.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“I should get a jump on work and gym after work.” (I won’t)

“It’s Wednesday, I will start fresh on Monday.”

“I deserve the rest.”

“I should prioritise healing for a bit longer.”

Meanwhile, I’m scrolling on social media now as I lie in bed, and the time to leave to head to the gym has long passed. I can’t go now because I will be stuck in traffic. The decision was made while I spent time negotiating.

I did not need more time to mull things over.

I did not need more information.

I did not need more time to heal.

I needed to stop negotiating.

The same thing often happens in our spiritual life. We already know what to do; we are just negotiating with comfort.

Many of us say things like:

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“I’m praying about it.”

“I’m waiting for confirmation from God.”

But the truth is we have already received the answer. We know what we need to do, but we don’t like the inconvenience attached to it.

So, what do we do? We mistake discernment for delay. For example, we hold onto pride, looking for reasons why we should not apologise for our bad behaviour instead of simply apologising. We hold off on church or community service because we believe we are too busy, when we know we can make the time.

We rationalise that we are still on a ‘sinning streak’, so we should exhaust this season before going to Confession. We keep seeking new signs because we don’t like the obvious answer.

Comfort is a funny thing. There is an allure about it that disguises its true intent. It does not say ‘Don’t do the right thing’, but what it does say is, ‘We will do the right thing…. just not today.’

It seems harmless until you fall deeper into your inaction. So deep that you’ve lost the plot completely. Comfort, if left unchecked in these scenarios, causes you to argue not against the destination but against the departure. So, you may end up on the runway indefinitely.

Don’t allow comfort to pull you into spiritual negotiations. We all know what we should be doing. We should not be compromising on prayer, we should be going to Holy Mass, Confession, forgiving others, etc. We know God wants us to build a relationship with Him through these practices, yet if we allow ourselves to negotiate, we remain stagnant.

Sometimes our greatest obstacles are not knowing God’s will but preferring our comfort over God’s invitation.

So let me ask you: What conversations are you avoiding?

What prayer life are you postponing?

What calling are you delaying?

What confessions are you putting off?

What act of forgiveness have you postponed?

What do you already know God is asking you to do?

Perhaps your next big breakthrough does not require any more information, signs, or resources. Maybe all that is needed is a decision because the answer has already been given, and you need only act.

Perhaps the only thing left is to stop negotiating with comfort.

Daniel Francis is a book publisher, leadership development coach, entrepreneur, and author of The Millennial Mind, The Millennial Experience, and How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book.

As the founder of One Momentum Publishing, he helps Caribbean authors move from manuscript to publication, guiding them through editing, design, and global distribution on platforms like Amazon, positioning them as authorities in their fields.

Through his work, Daniel equips individuals with the mindset and structure needed to turn ideas into impact.

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