Have we become passive about Jesus and the gospel?
First off, what does this word mean? Well here is the definition according to dictionary.com .....
Passive:
~ not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling.
~ not participating readily or actively; inactive
~ not involving visible reaction or active participation
I don't know about you but I definitely don't want to be passive about Jesus. I want to love and live for Him wholeheartedly. I want to care and be actively involved in furthering His kingdom.
But to be honest, recently I've felt almost distant from God. I still love Him and want to live for Him... I just kind of feel like I'm not going anywhere. I'm not really growing, not really struggling. Just.... waiting. I don't know about you but the whole "waiting" thing has never been my favorite. But when we find ourselves in situations like trials, waiting, or anything really instead of asking "Why is this happening?" we should ask "What do You want me to learn from this?".
Easier said than done. I've heard people say there is beauty in waiting - and I agree. But when you're actually waiting on the Lord it's harder to see the beauty.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 27:13-14, "I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord."
Wait for the Lord. Again, easier said than done. What are we supposed to do when we find ourselves in situations like these? Trust Him in faith and obey Him. It's harder, I know, but keep trying to live for Him. Spend time in His Word and in prayer - seeking Him. And we can't do this on our own... we need to trust in Him, He's the one who enables us.
Psalm 105:4, "Search for the Lord and for His strength; seek His face always."
What's the opposite of passive? Well one of my sisters said overreacting... maybe that's true. But in my mind I picture caring, loving, compassionate, active.
I don't want to be passive. I want to love, care, be active in my walk with Jesus, and have compassion. Maybe God has called me to wait at the moment, maybe He has something to teach me I haven't learned yet. Nevertheless I still need live for Him and obey Him.
I keep using the word "live". The opposite of that word is quite obvious: die. Life and death. When we were apart from Jesus we were dead in our sins, but He gives us life. So we should live our lives for Him and for His glory. After all... isn't this all His anyways?
Let's live for Him, not being passive, but being loving.
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What do you think God is trying to teach you right now?
What season do you find yourself in?
How do you find beauty in waiting?
This sounds like a similar discussion I've had with a friend in the past, we were discussing passivity and how Christians can fall into that and he called it "selfish-passivity", which really struck a cord with me because when I think about it, I am selfishly passive so often.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard getting out of my comfort zone, and it's hard giving up my sinful ways, so I selfishly hold on to being passive for the sake of comfort. And I think a lot of Christians fall into that trap as well.
Anyways, sorry to throw that ramble at you. Great post, very thought-provoking as always!
Yes, it’s hard to get out of our comfort zones, give up our sinful ways.... we tend to be passive at times. But instead we should look to Jesus, He’s the one who helps us.
DeleteFeel free to throw rambles my way :D - I tend to do that often anyways.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Gray!
I appreciate your last little note on life and death. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus came that we may have life - full and abundant life. xx
ReplyDeleteYes, Satan comes with three goals: to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus gives us life - eternal life in Him if we choose to accept it.
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Jordy!
Great post! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteRecently God has been teaching me to trust Him in the unknown and overwhelming times...
I like the Bible verses you put with this post! ;)
-Brooklyne
God has to teach me repeatedly about trust... it’s always good to be reminded of. It’s hard to trust Him in the unknown and overwhelming times but we need to let go and let Him take over - kind of like what you talked about in your blog post today :).
DeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts, Brooklyne!
Whoops I mean your post from last week :D
DeleteVery nice post! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mallory!
DeleteI like that photo. :) I relate to this so much, actually. Passive would be a good word to describe some of my feelings lately, particularly towards active evangelism. But it makes me question my heart. Is there something between me and God that I feel this way toward Him? Or is it a season of waiting and testing, as you mentioned? Thanks for bringing it up though, I want to join you in being active for God - caring, loving, living. xx
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. I’ve been looking at my life to see if there is some thing hindering my walk with the Lord or wondering if it’s just a season of waiting. I’m not completely sure yet. I think being active for God - caring, loving, living - is something we all need to try together as sisters in Christ. God will help us and we’re going to fall short, but it’s good to have God’s people with you to help you along. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jess! :)
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