The trip was long. Monotonous landscape stretched out before me. Heat shimmered off the pavement and the glaring sun was relentless. When the trip started I was alert and ready for this day of traveling. Yet as the wheels whirled around on the pavement hour after hour, I became drowsy. Lethargy had invaded my space.
My mind zoned out and my eyelids became heavy. To do anything but stare straight ahead with the wheel within my grip seemed to be too much of an effort. On the other hand, I knew that this lethargy had to be dealt with. You’ve been there. Roll down the window, change positions, turn on the radio, engage your mind, open your eyes wider or pull off the road. All these are things that have been tried to wake oneself up when on a long road trip.
Danger Ahead!
Danger is imminent if the lethargy is not dealt with while driving. Similarly, there is a danger in our spiritual life when we become inactive and drowsy. Our journey with God begins with joy and watchful carefulness. We are vigilant and attentive to the things that surround us. Carefulness about those things that could snare our soul is maintained. The journey stretches out before us as the days, months and years whirl behind us.
It is in the long, hard stretches of monotony that the devil sneaks in with a languorous attitude towards evil. The “its okay to skip your Bible reading today” is another tool used to deaden our appetite for the things of God. Pleasure beckons and the cares of this life call. We become comfortable in our spiritually inactive state. In the hum drum of everyday life we become dull and lethargic. To do anything else than what we are doing seems to be too much of an effort.
The Importance of Rousing From Lethargy
I’ve been there in the physical road trip, as well as the spiritual one. The days run together and the “nothingness” of the landscape around me lulls me into a spiritually drowsy state. My mind disengages and the words of Scripture run off of me like so much water off of a ducks back. When I go through my days with a lethargic spirit, not caring what happens, I’ve entered into that place between alertness and slumber in my spiritual life and danger is imminent.
When faced with a somnolent state in our Christian life we must rouse ourselves out of the stupor that has come over us. We must shake ourselves spiritually and put forth an effort to engage our souls once again in this journey of life.
Israel had fallen into just such a state in various occasions. They pushed away the safeguards that God had placed around them. The commands and promises of God lay forgotten in the dust of their downhill trend toward idolatry. They obliterated their knowledge of God through careless living and a lethargic spirit.
As we read account after account of the wicked deeds of the Israelites and how they turned to idolatry how often do we say within ourselves “That wouldn’t happen to me”? “Idolatry? Forget God? No, I wouldn’t do that!”
Yet how did it start in their lives? What started the slide toward wickedness? Could it be that their apathy towards God began when they did not shake off the lethargy that can come with a long, monotonous journey? Did their dullness of spirit come when they chose not to put forth the effort to engage their souls once again?
Maintaining a Diligent Spirit
Words of warning are scattered liberally throughout the Scripture. We are called to a diligent and careful living. The proclivity toward forgetfulness is something to be challenged. Lethargy must be dealt with before a crash of the soul happens.
How can we move from a lethargic state to alertness once again? What can we do to maintain a diligent spirit?
- Recognize the lethargy of spirit.
- Repent of the apathy towards God.
- Rouse yourself and put forth an effort.
- Resist surface reading and delve deep into God’s Word.
- Return to daily communion with God.
- Resolve to heed the commands of God.
- Remember the victories of the past.
- Rejoice in the blessings of the present.
- Reflect on the promises of God.
- Renew your knowledge of who God is.
- Revel in the beauty of God’s creation.
- Rest in God’s steadfast love.
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