5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Hosea 1-5
Revelation 3

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Revelation 3:15-17 (CSB): “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

I have met a few people in my life who seemed to be happy only when they were sad. They seemed to enjoy life’s difficulties. The troubles they experienced gave them reason to elicit sympathy from others and to excuse the little they made of their lives.

But most people aren’t like that. We don’t like trouble. We want things to go well. We want as little resistance as possible. We want such an easy life that if it were turned into a movie, no one would show up because it would be so dull.

However, when things go well for us, we are in spiritual danger. The danger is that we will become spiritually content and complacent as we enjoy and depend on our blessings rather than the One who gave them.

How serious does God take it when we are living the “blessed life” and our spiritual flame burns dangerously low? All we need to do is look at the church at Laodicea and what Jesus said to them.

History tells us that Laodicea was destroyed by a massive earthquake about 35 years before John wrote the book of Revelation. Because the city and its residents were so affluent, they rebuilt their city.

The unbelievers in the city must have had a sense of pride in what they had done and who they were. They must have also grown a bit lazy and apathetic, as so often happens in a time of plenty.

The believers in that city, if they are like most other believers in church history, took on the mindset of their culture. Rather than the church influencing the culture, the culture influenced the church. The Christians in the Laodicean church felt a sense of pride and affluence that made them believe they had all they needed. And they may have grown spiritually apathetic. While they may not have even noticed it, their need and dependence upon Jesus took a huge hit. They weren’t living by faith, and probably weren’t doing nearly as much as they should have done for the Kingdom.

As Jesus looked at them, He essentially said, “You feel like you’ve got it all and don’t need anything, not even me. But you don’t see yourselves as I see you. You need Me more than you could possibly know. And in your affluence, you’ve also grown spiritually apathetic.”

Revelation 3:17 (CSB): “For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”

How seriously did Jesus take their ongoing condition? How does Jesus think about us when we live in a time of plenty and grow spiritually apathetic, failing to depend upon Him?

Revelation 3:15-16 (CSB): “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.”

There is a spiritual depth that can only be developed in times of trouble as we rely upon the Lord and find Him to be faithful. In the absence of that spiritual depth, we can do all sorts of “good” things, but they lack the spiritual depth that comes from dependence on, faith in, and submission to the Lord, which robs the deeds of their pleasing quality to our God, who is the ultimate judge. Our love for the Lord can grow cold as we slip further into spiritual apathy. And the Lord doesn’t merely find this displeasing; He finds our spiritual condition so abhorrent that, if it were food or drink, He would want to puke it out of His mouth.

Friend, while we don’t like it when life gets tough, it could be a blessing in disguise. It gives us a reason to recognize our frailty, motivating us to pursue our Lord and depend upon Him. Only then, as we are living by faith, can anything we do be pleasing to our Lord. And that’s a very good thing!

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you keep life’s difficulties in perspective.
  • Ask God to bring what it takes into your life to help you grow in your relationship with Him.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus’ words to the church in Laodicea, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What was Jesus’ message to the church in Laodicea in Revelation?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)