You can attend church religiously every Saturday or Sunday, go to as many revivals as you want to and profess to be a Christian as much as you want to, but if you don’t have that personal relationship with God then what’s the point of it all?
I was baptized when I was 10 years old, October 25, 2007 and this was one of the best days of my life. The sermon had really touched me, so much that I cried and I was finally ready to commit to God…or so I thought.
As the years went by, I was still going to church regularly and getting involved in various church activities but while I was engaging with the church I had not truly grasped the concept of a personal relationship with God. Yes, I read my Bible and did everything I was “supposed” to do and I did have moments where I was on fire for God but still, I didn’t quite get it. I still didn’t truly understand what it meant to commit to God.
The cycle of going to church and different events without truly being changed turned into me becoming complacent. As someone who grew up a Christian, I realized that often times for us, we lose our spark and we just get into the routine of going to church that we don’t even realize that we’re falling into complacency.
Complacency is characterized by satisfaction or being comfortable. Our walk with God and complacency should never be used in the same sentence. We should never become complacent with God but truth be told, a lot of us are complacent today.
Our walk with God and Complacency should never be in the same sentence.
We become content with our quick prayers and reading only the verse of the day and doing just enough to get our small fix of Jesus in our spirit. We spend more time talking to our friends, watching Netflix and mindlessly scrolling through social media than we do with God. But if anyone asks us we’ll profess that we are proud Christians.
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” -Matthew 15:8
Practical Tips for Avoiding Complacency
1. Make notes of the sermon in church and try to put what you’ve learned into practice for the upcoming week and/or share your notes with a friend and explain to them what you’ve learned.
2. Start journaling about your interesting or bad experiences each day or week and write down what you’re grateful for often. Go back to the journal later on and see all that God has done for you and the situations He has brought you out of.
3. Listen to worship music before you pray. Sometimes we pray but our hearts aren’t fully there. Listening worship music will get you into that prayerful mood. Check out 2020 Worship Music Playlist for some worship music suggestions.
4. Pray and ask God to help you gain something before you read your Bible. After you read the Bible, write down what points stood out to you and what you learned. Go back to these notes later for encouragement.
5. Join a youth bible study group where you and other youth can grow in Christ together. We’re not on this Christian journey alone and it’s great to be surrounded by people who can help you along the way. If you’re struggling to find a bible study group, feel free to message me for help in connecting with a group.
6. And finally, NEVER STOP GROWING!
If you’re unsure whether you really are complacent, check out this article by Zhara, a Christian blogger I just came across on Converted Christian or Church-goer.
Stick around next week for another chat about our relationship with God!
Schar's Mind 
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