How can we apply Jeremiah 5:21 to avoid spiritual complacency in daily life? Setting the Scene Jeremiah addressed a nation drifting into ritual without relationship. His words expose any heart that can quote truth yet live unmoved by it. What Jeremiah 5:21 Says “ ‘Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.’ ” God diagnoses a willful dullness: physical senses intact, spiritual senses asleep. Diagnosing Spiritual Complacency • Familiarity with Scripture that no longer sparks awe • Attendance at worship without expectancy • Sin tolerated because “nothing bad seems to happen” • Service done from habit rather than love • Declining hunger for prayer, fellowship, or witness • Substituting political, social, or personal goals for God’s kingdom Practical Steps to Stay Awake Spiritually 1. Receive the Word as a living voice • Schedule unhurried daily reading; invite the Spirit to “open my eyes” (Psalm 119:18). • Read aloud to engage both sight and hearing, reversing the blindness/deafness Jeremiah condemns. 2. Respond immediately in obedience • “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). • Write one concrete action after each reading—call, forgive, give, repent—and complete it the same day. 3. Recalibrate by regular self-examination • “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). • Keep a weekly journal page: Where did I resist conviction? Where did I rejoice in obedience? 4. Rekindle worship with gratitude • Begin and end each day listing three specific mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23). • Sing or speak a psalm aloud (Psalm 103) to train the heart to feel what the mouth declares. 5. Rely on accountable fellowship • “Encourage one another daily…so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13). • Pair with a trusted believer for honest check-ins; share victories and vulnerabilities. 6. Refresh mission focus • Remember Christ’s commission (Matthew 28:18-20). • Ask: Which neighbor, coworker, relative did I intentionally love today? Scriptures that Reinforce the Call • Revelation 3:14-22 — Christ’s warning to the lukewarm church • Ephesians 5:14 — “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead” • 2 Peter 1:5-9 — Add virtue upon virtue so you will not be “ineffective or unfruitful” • Matthew 13:15 — Hearts grown dull cannot hear or understand Daily Checklist for Alertness □ I heard God’s voice in Scripture today. □ I acted promptly on at least one conviction. □ I thanked Him for specific mercies. □ I confessed sin before it calcified. □ I encouraged or received encouragement from another believer. □ I looked outward to serve or witness. Encouragement to Persevere God delights to replace foolish, senseless hearts with responsive ones (Ezekiel 36:26). As we intentionally see, hear, and obey, complacency melts into vibrant, fruitful discipleship—for our joy and His glory. |
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