Monday, July 21, 2008

Avoiding God Complacency

Today I’m in the hill country of Texas on vacation. We love to come here every once in a while to retreat from city life and enjoy the beauty of God’s great creation. One of the things we enjoy seeing is the lovely and quiet deer which inhabit much of this area. In past years, we would see them here and there and rejoice in a deer sighting. This particular trip we have seen deer everywhere. Every time we step out our door, there they are. Although I love seeing them, I must admit the excitement is gone since we see them all the time. Now we think to ourselves, Oh it’s just another deer. I guess you could say we have become “deer-complacent.”

As Christians we can be in danger of being “God-complacent” thinking to ourselves, Oh I’ve heard that Bible story or read that verse a million times. If we are not careful we can lose our zeal toward the things of God, because as we relax it all becomes so familiar. Let’s determine to continually go back to that first love and enjoy God’s word afresh. The Bible is a living and vibrant word and there is always something new we can learn, even from those old familiar stories. Ask God for a fresh wind and a renewed desire for what his word can teach you. One way to grow deeper in love with his word is to meditate on it and memorize it. I encourage you to take one passage today and really grapple with it in your heart and mind. Memorize it, chew on it, and share its profound truth with your kids.

Possibly one of the greatest examples we can show our kids is our own renewed interest and love of God’s word. So instead of having the attitude of Oh this story again, we can say to our kids “I’m so excited! Let me share with you what I learned from God’s word today!”

Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you. I was searching for ideas on how to share the Word of God with children and found you:) I think there is a lot of truth in your post - anything can become routine - even "I love you." It is a good reminder.

To teach our kids, I found a great little book I love and kids love. It is called "This Bible Talks!" by Pamela Fischer. Narrated by Michael David McGuire (you will recognize his voice from commercials - great!!) Website: http://www.thisbibletalks.com

This was a new way to look at the Bible and God and really sparked some interest in our household...

Thank you again for the post. God Bless!

Chel said...

I have written about and spoken on complacency but I had never incorporated it quiet like this. I love this perspective because it is a tiring conversation to keep reminding others how to approach God's (old) word with freshness and newness www.abidingbranch.blogspot.com/2008/07/oh-way-rain-smells.html.

WOW! Usually we when we have approached the topic of complacency we speak of the stagnant walk in regards to outward action or inward thoughts as my sister (http://legacy-4-my-boys.blogspot.com/) said, "There's a fungus among us!". Seriously, Karol thank you for providing a new perspective on this word for me.

BTW I loved the writers conference and I had a wonderful talk with Jane, I see why the two of you are such good friends! Thank you for doing that for us all but mostly for HIM.

In Christ, Rachele