How To Overcome Spiritual Stagnation
Several years ago, I purchased a new-to-me Chevy S10 truck. It certainly had come with its additional challenges in that I had to learn how to drive a standard vehicle for the first time. This experience brought back several memories of learning how to drive and spiritually taught the important lesson of going back to the very basics. Learning how to drive again taught me the benefits of raw learning— accepting correction and rebuke and not giving up after a stall….or two or twelve.
In John 14:12, Jesus told His disciples, those very people following after Him:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.”
Did you catch that? I had to reread it several times before I could even remotely understand that my faith in Jesus allows me to do more than even what Jesus was doing!?! How could I ever become so comfortable with a calling and promise like that? How dare I become so comfortable with a calling and promise like that? I am meant for more. And so are you!
My favorite line in the All Sons and Daughters worship song “Called Me Higher” is:
“I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave home, never let these walls down, but You have called me higher.”
I’m guilty of settling for less than all God has for me because I’m comfortable, safe, and protected. For too long, I had become stagnant, comfortable, and dull in many of my relationships. I look around and see so many others have succumbed to this same type of comfortable Christianity. We have settled. We have grown weary.
Through my driving experience, I learned that once you stay in a place long enough, it gets very comfortable and then it requires more energy to get out of that place and therein, spiritually, lies the very well disguised trap of complacency. Complacency in the Christian life, I believe, is one of the most dangerous landmines because we become far too easily satisfied, become no longer teachable, and limit ourselves from one of the greatest blessings Christ offers us.
Spiritual complacency is a dangerous spiritual condition leaving us vulnerable to the dangers around us, leading us to apathy and sometimes outright rejection of Christ and His Word. Complacency keeps us in one place for so long that we are too afraid to take a single step of faith forward and less likely to take a risk of obedience.
We don’t realize that the tank of our passion for God has gone below empty. We don’t realize the deep ache to see people come to Christ has waned. We don’t realize that the hurtful comment has turned into a root of bitterness or that we are relying on old victories. We don’t notice our lost gratitude or that we might have taken His many blessings for granted.
We’ve lost our sense of reverence for what really matters and no longer have any heart behind the things done in His name and for His glory. We’ve lost our sense of wonder at who He is. It just happened. It happens subtly and without intent. But it does happen and we must take diligent guard against this landmine.
In a very practical example, Elisha illustrates in 2 Kings 6:5-7 what we ought to do when we lose “our edge” and our passion for Christ.
“And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was cutting a log, his ax head fell into the water and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It is borrowed!”. Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.”
The things we lose are in the last place we left them. I know that isn’t a very profound statement, but how true it is. The same is true, spiritually, when we lose our passion or neglect our first love. But God, in His tender mercy and grace, didn’t go anywhere. He didn’t abandon you, betray you, or hurt you like anyone else. He doesn’t disown you and will not cast you off as a reject or a second class Christian. Instead, He weeps and grieves with you welcoming you back with arms open wide. Ask yourself “where did it fall?” and simply fall back in His arms and repent.
We need to recalibrate our hearts back to the things of God. To recalibrate is to make small changes to our mindsets so that it measures accurately and more in tune with the heartbeat of Christ. The key to resisting and repenting from a complacent, sluggish mindset is to get back to a vibrant faith through reading, reflecting, and responding to God’s Word.
The Scriptures proclaim purposes and promises that are beyond the miserable mediocrity and spiritual stagnation. His Word promises me a vibrant, thriving, and greater life in Him. One of the greatest things we can do to recalibrate our hearts is to remember the greatness of who He is.
Anne Graham Lotz so perfectly described this settled stagnation that’s unfortunately infiltrated our churches. She said:
“Christians today seem to be so saturated in selfishness, so mesmerized by materialism, so engrossed by entertainment, and preoccupied with politics that we are in danger of losing the uniqueness of who we are. Increasingly, the lights of the world are dim, the salt has lost its flavor, the trumpet call is indistinct. We desperately need to catch fire in our personal knowledge of God, our passionate love for Christ, our practical devotion to the Holy Spirit and our purposeful commitment to the gospel; we need revival so that God is glorified, Christ is magnified, sin is crucified, the Church is purified, and the world is evangelized.”
Do we not so desperately need this? We’ve settled for good when God has so much more for us. Yet, in the midst of our complacency, I also sense a real season of restlessness among God’s people with the way things are now. Although we’ve settled, we know and plead for the Lord to bring change, bring purity, and ultimately, a growing revival. In my own heart, I know I am not deep enough, close enough, or clean enough. I want that deep, rooted, built up, and established growth in Him. I want so much more of Jesus in my life.
One of my daily prayers is Hosea 10:12: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Oh, how I long for God to rain down upon my life and drench me with His Holy Spirit, pour upon me His mercy, and flood my heart with His love so that I am back in that revived state once again with Jesus. I long to see the powerful works of God I saw when I first got saved - the miracles, the impossible, those signs, and wonders. I want to see the lost come home, the sick made whole, and demons tremble as Jesus returns to His rightful place as Lord in our hearts.
We need to return to our first love by continually, daily, and intentionally coming to the loving arms of our Savior. We need to repent from settling for less than the thriving call of Christ. Ask God to restore the passion you lost, reignite the flame that once burned bright and clear, and regain the momentum for the things of His will. No matter how many times I stall, I need to restart the truck and simply pick up where I leave off. “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” (Pro 24:16). Keep moving forward into the greater things God has for you!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah is a twenty-something Tucson native saved by the overwhelming grace of Christ and a disciple of His Word. Hannah loves country music, camping and hiking, binge watching Gilmore Girls and traveling on spontaneous road trips. Her favorite days consist of a great cup of coffee, a good book, and enjoying monsoon thunderstorms. She longs to see young women thrive in their relationship with Jesus, knowing He always has immeasurably more in store for us.