The Danger of Spiritual Complacency
Remembering the Past and Making a Choice for the Future
Joshua 21-24
“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, chose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The greatest threat to spiritual growth and faith is not adversity but prosperity. When circumstances turn against us, when life becomes dark and foreboding, it is natural to turn to God for help, guidance, and protection. But when life is going well and we are enjoying the prosperity and security of the present, we can start to neglect God and trust in our own abilities and wisdom.
During the lifetime of Joshua, the nation of Israel had face trying and difficult times. They had wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and they had gone through the upheaval, threat, and uncertainty of a military campaign. As the period of Joshua’s leadership was coming to an end, Joshua reminded the people of God’s past activities. In 23:14, he reveals to the people that his time of leadership was coming to an end. In light of this, he reminds the people that “not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all has been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.” God is always faithful to His word and fulfills every promise He makes. For the people of Israel, the period of Joshua would have been seen as a period of risk and threat as they were engaged in the military campaigns. Now that the war had ended, there was a corporate sigh of relief as the nation entered a time of peace and prosperity. The people thought that the threat was now ended. However, Joshua reminds them that the real threat to the nation's well-being was just beginning. Moses had anticipated this when he warned in Deut. 8:11-14, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statures which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them,…then your hear will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God.” These words were not just a warning; they were prophetic, for when Israel settled in the land, they would do the very thing that both Moses and Joshua warned against: they would forget God and embrace the idols of the nations around them.
To avoid the danger of spiritual complacency, we need to continually remind ourselves of God’s redemptive work in our lives. Daily, we need to remember how God has delivered us in the past so that we might reaffirm our faith and trust in Him in the present. The decision to accept Christ as our Savior is a simple choice we must make at some point in time. However, the choice to live in obedience to Christ is a decision we must make every day. Daily, we need to remember the past when we surrendered our lives to Christ and accepted His offer of salvation as a reminder that we are to continue to live for Him in the present. Just as salvation involves a decision, the life of obedience requires a deliberate decision. If we are not careful, we can become complacent in our faith and start to drift in our relationship with God. We must ask ourselves, “Have I accepted Christ as my savior?” We must also ask, “Am I living for Christ in the present?” This is the question we must ask today and every day. How would you answer that question today?
Joshua 21-24
“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, chose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The greatest threat to spiritual growth and faith is not adversity but prosperity. When circumstances turn against us, when life becomes dark and foreboding, it is natural to turn to God for help, guidance, and protection. But when life is going well and we are enjoying the prosperity and security of the present, we can start to neglect God and trust in our own abilities and wisdom.
During the lifetime of Joshua, the nation of Israel had face trying and difficult times. They had wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and they had gone through the upheaval, threat, and uncertainty of a military campaign. As the period of Joshua’s leadership was coming to an end, Joshua reminded the people of God’s past activities. In 23:14, he reveals to the people that his time of leadership was coming to an end. In light of this, he reminds the people that “not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all has been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.” God is always faithful to His word and fulfills every promise He makes. For the people of Israel, the period of Joshua would have been seen as a period of risk and threat as they were engaged in the military campaigns. Now that the war had ended, there was a corporate sigh of relief as the nation entered a time of peace and prosperity. The people thought that the threat was now ended. However, Joshua reminds them that the real threat to the nation's well-being was just beginning. Moses had anticipated this when he warned in Deut. 8:11-14, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statures which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them,…then your hear will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God.” These words were not just a warning; they were prophetic, for when Israel settled in the land, they would do the very thing that both Moses and Joshua warned against: they would forget God and embrace the idols of the nations around them.
To avoid the danger of spiritual complacency, we need to continually remind ourselves of God’s redemptive work in our lives. Daily, we need to remember how God has delivered us in the past so that we might reaffirm our faith and trust in Him in the present. The decision to accept Christ as our Savior is a simple choice we must make at some point in time. However, the choice to live in obedience to Christ is a decision we must make every day. Daily, we need to remember the past when we surrendered our lives to Christ and accepted His offer of salvation as a reminder that we are to continue to live for Him in the present. Just as salvation involves a decision, the life of obedience requires a deliberate decision. If we are not careful, we can become complacent in our faith and start to drift in our relationship with God. We must ask ourselves, “Have I accepted Christ as my savior?” We must also ask, “Am I living for Christ in the present?” This is the question we must ask today and every day. How would you answer that question today?
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