By Tania C. Easterling
“Laziness casts one into a deep sleep [unmindful of lost opportunity]…” – Proverbs 19:15a AMP
Let’s be real and transparent with each other. Every person (this author included) has encountered that feeling of fatigue. Exhaustion. Less than excited about what God has purposed you to do at one time or another in life. Sound familiar? Can you relate, or am I the only one? In the words of my parent’s generation – are you picking up what I’m putting down?!
I love the Amplified translation of Proverbs 19:15a at the top of this post because it explains the cause and effects of laziness in our lives. The translation states we become “unmindful of lost opportunity”. It’s as though the blinders on the side of our face created to keep us focused on the goal cover our eyes completely. Our faith becomes so stagnant, we may not even recognize when God has answered one of our prayers! With His grace, maybe we’re blessed to trip over the miracle to awaken from our self-imposed slumber.
We now live in a time where it’s so easy to allow our faith to become lazy. Before we know it, we are looking to the “experts and influencers” on news channels and social media before taking our Heavenly Father at His word. God has told you it’s time to purchase a home, but you keep your faith on the couch because the analysts state this is the worst time to buy a home. God desires for you to exercise your faith, but you allow the voice from the screen to be louder than the voice within. Before we know it, we’ve allowed every outside voice to determine our day while faith lies in a comatose state in the same place it’s been for days, weeks, or months.
Now, to be clear, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t heed wise counsel. The bible clearly instructs us to do so. However, at the end of the day, God’s will be done! God will provide for every leap of faith He asks us to take. We only have to awaken our faith muscle and exercise it back into shape. Are you unsure about the condition of your faith? Let’s do a faith health assessment. Ask yourself the following questions and wait for the Holy Spirit to reveal the True answer:
1. When I open my mouth, do I speak from my faith (do I declare God’s word over my life & the lives of others) or from another place? (i.e., fear, doubt, anxiety, etc) If I speak from another place, why is that my first response?
2. When is the last time I used my faith to partner with God for something greater than what I could accomplish in my own strength?
3. When I need direction, do I open my bible first & pray or do I just see what others have done on social media & YouTube and follow that advice? What’s keeping me from seeking God first?
If any of those questions were difficult to answer, that’s great. Transparency always comes before transformation! God is always waiting for us to be honest with ourselves and with Him. Trust me, He already knows your answers. Today is a great day to repent and turn all control back to our Heavenly Father.
It’s time to force your faith off the couch. Just like our physical bodies, our faith needs regular exercise. Dare I say even more so than physical exercise. The enemy is after our faith. If he can rob us of the privilege we have to join our faith with God’s word, then we are kept powerless, without strength. We become blind and lazy in our faith and only the enemy is pleased with his results. And once our faith is in a lazy state, that’s when fear and doubt become our heart’s first response. God’s word is never uncertain. His plans are so sure and confident, that every question He asks in the bible is rhetorical!
When God promised Abraham the miracle of a son, He asked Abraham, “Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord?” – Genesis 18:14 AMP
When Jeremiah doubted God’s instruction, God replied to him, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for Me?” – Jeremiah 32:27 AMP
Lazy faith causes us to question God, His authority, and His capability. Abraham was a great man of faith, and yet even he had a moment where God had to remind him that now is not the time to allow your faith to grow weary. God is waiting to partner with our faith. Lazy faith will delay miracles. Don’t delay God’s hand in your life. We should desire to receive every blessing our Heavenly Father so eagerly desires to bestow on our lives. But He needs your faith. Your faith doesn’t need to be great; it just needs to be firmly planted and strong.
Strengthen your faith by reading God’s word daily. Listen to songs written to encourage your faith. Complete a bible plan or study focused on building your faith muscle. And lastly, only surround yourself with people who are also exercising their faith muscles. Just think, in the natural, it’s hard to remain encouraged to lose weight if everyone around you is content to live an unhealthy eating lifestyle. Well, our spiritual health is the same. Ask God to place you around people who also exercise their faith in God AND be willing to let go of the friends who have chosen to keep their faith on the couch. Lazy faith doesn’t look good on anyone, and it certainly doesn’t look good on those of us God has chosen to use to change the world. Let’s go exercise our faith, God has opportunities waiting for us!
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