It happens all the time, and it’s sad all the time, and it is avoidable all the time. Apathy overtakes the zealous believer!
Have you noticed how easy it is to settle into a place of spiritual complacency? The excitement and zeal you used to have in following Jesus have become apathy and laziness, and you’re not even sure how it happened. God will not allow you to stay in a place of comfort and ease. He will do whatever it takes to stir you up. I hope that’s what you want!
Hebrews 10:24–25 (NKJV) “And let us consider one another to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The dictionary defines apathy as a “lack of feeling or emotion; lack of interest or concern.” This is not something we want to describe our Christian life.
Psalm 40:8 (NKJV) “I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”
Unfortunately, it is all too easy to become apathetic. Apathy can creep up on us gradually, almost without our realizing it until we find ourselves in a place where we are just going through the motions, not living for Christ or making much progress. You aren’t reading your Bible daily anymore. Family devotions have disappeared. You’re no longer praying with your spouse, or even worse, no longer praying by yourself. Attending Church is routine and sometimes even drudgery. This stuff doesn’t happen overnight!
Isaiah 44:22 (NKJV) “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
If you are apathetic, ask God to help you by stirring up your love and good works again. He is faithful and will help you if you ask Him. Get involved in the life of your Church. Spend time with other believers who will encourage you in your faith. Share the gospel regularly with the lost! Pray that God will give you the desire to serve Him with all your heart. And most importantly, don’t give up! With God’s help, you can overcome apathy and live a life full of His power and purpose.
It’s not God’s will for you to hang around in a “holy huddle,” not pressing forward with the Gospel. God used persecution and pain to move the early church out of Jerusalem. I’m not sure what He will use in our lives, but you can be sure that God will do whatever it takes to stir you up!
