“I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder “
2 Peter 1:13 ESV
Do you remember being awakened by your mom or dad when you were a child? The bed felt cozy, snuggly, and warm—you did not want to get up. Especially if getting up meant going to school.
It would begin as a gentle hand on your back, then a slight shake, turning into a not-as-gentle two-handed shaking. All the while, the quiet “good morning” was getting louder, until it became a clear and resounding, “Sorry, if I have to get up to go to work, you have to get up to go to school.” At this point, your response was either giggles or groans.
As adults, we can find ourselves so comfortable in our situations that we don’t want to be disturbed. We don’t want anyone to make demands of us. We want to hunker down in the unthreatening, undemanding coziness of the moment.
There is nothing wrong with taking a time-out to refresh, relax, and reinvigorate; in fact, it is physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healing and refreshing. We all must do it from time to time. It is one of the reasons God told the Israelites to keep the Sabbath.
However, when we give our comfort first consideration in all our decisions, we enter dangerous territory. We can become complacent.
Merriam-Webster defines “complacency” as 1. Self-satisfaction, especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies; and 2. an instance of usually unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction.
In other words, when we become complacent, we begin living a self-satisfied life, oblivious to the realities of the world around us. On a spiritual level, we’re inclined to assume all is well because nothing bad is happening. We think things must be okay with God, or we decide He’s not paying attention because He has better things to do.
The Old Testament prophet, Zephaniah, condemned the Jews who had become complacent in their comfortable situation. The people were saying in their hearts and actions, “God doesn’t care. He’s not going to get involved in our lives. It’s all okay.”
The prophet Zephaniah wrote:
“At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will He do ill.’ Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.” Zephaniah 1:12-14 ESV –
It was not okay for the complacent Jews of Zephaniah’s time, and it is not okay now.
God will not tolerate complacency in the lives of His children. He will give them a time of grace to cast off the complacency, repent, and return to Him wholeheartedly. But He will not tolerate apathy and indifference forever. He will shake His people to get their attention—to turn their eyes and hearts back to Him.
When God shakes us, it is for a reason. There is purpose in the times of shaking.
God shakes us so that He can stir us.
God wants to stir us to obedience to Him. Obedience of our hearts and actions—to do the work He has called us to do.
In this context, “to stir” means to provoke or incite to good. Again referencing Merriam-Webster, to “stir up” is to “bring to notice, to rouse to activity, evoke strong feelings about or for something.
God shook the Children of Israel out of their years of complacency in Egypt. During the several hundred years that Israel served as slaves, they thought God no longer paid attention to them or their problems. Many thought God no longer cared.
Israel’s exit from Egypt and all the difficulties they experienced in the wilderness were times of significant shaking. God shook them out of the complacency of Egypt to turn them back to Himself, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
That time of shaking prepared Israel’s hearts to be stirred by God to obedience, love, and service. It began preparing Israel for the battles that they would face in the Promised Land (Exodus 35:21, 26; 36:2).
Scripture offers other examples where God has shaken and then stirred people to move forward in service for His purposes:
- King Cyrus of Persia (2 Chronicles 36:22, Ezra 1:1, Isaiah 45:13)
- The Israelites in exile (Ezra 1:5),
- Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, Joshua the priest, and all the remnant of Israel (Haggai 1:14).
God is always paying attention to His children. They are never out of His mind or His sight. Like parents waking a beloved child, He speaks gently at first to wake us and draw our attention back to Him. When we continue to ignore and disregard His voice, He grows louder, and eventually, the shaking will come.
God wants to engage us fully in His Kingdom work. Complacency is unacceptable in the family of God. We all have a Kingdom job to do. Once God has the attention of our obedient heart, the Holy Spirit of God will stir us up and move us forward.
When we set aside the complacency and engage with wholehearted enthusiasm in God’s purpose for us, He will use us to stir others. How amazing is that?
Complacent? Recognize your condition, reject that spirit of complacency, and repent, asking God to forgive and help you to grow in your desire to serve.
Shaken? Recognize that God is working to get your attention. He’s never taken His eyes off of you, but you have taken yours off of Him. Repent of whatever has held you back and thank God that He loves you so much that He desires your wholeness and a restored relationship with you.
Stirred? Praise God! He is showing you how He wants to use you, and He’s revealing His purpose for you.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV