I don't really care what God says – Part 2

Earlier this week, I shared that many Christians unintentionally get to a place of feeling disconnected and indifferent toward the Lord. Most of the time, the enemy takes a painful experience and convinces us that God let us down. We ignore the actions of sinful people and the fact that we live in a fallen world, riddled with death and disease, and we blame God. We believe the enemy’s lies and we harden our hearts to the Lord. Like a blister left untreated, it eventually turns into a callous: dead, hard skin with no feeling. A callous on your hands is one thing... but when the callous is on your heart, that’s a whole different story.[bctt tweet="A callous on your hands is one thing... but when it's on your heart, that’s a whole different story."]The idea of indifference gives the illusion of being neutral. In reality, though, indifference toward God is a very dangerous place. When we’re indifferent to the Lord, we no longer seek Him for our purpose. But we’re made for purpose, so we’ll be driven to either find our purpose outside of the Lord or to doubt if we even have purpose.If you’re struggling in this area of indifference, how do you move beyond that? I thought you’d never ask! My answer comes from looking at a letter that Paul wrote to his student, Timothy. Timothy was not indifferent. He was faithful. But as Paul neared his death, he wrote Timothy a letter and communicated what I believe can help unlock anyone struggling in the land of indifference. I encourage you to read 2 Timothy 1:1-7 on your own, but for our purposes right now, narrow in on verse 6-7…

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

If we’re struggling with indifference, verse 7 shows us two critical steps we must take to move past where we’re at. First, we must accept God’s provision. Verse 7 tells us that we’re given a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of self-control.I’m not sure about you, but more often than not, I’m tempted to walk around with a spirit of doubt or fear. Yet that’s the very thing that it clearly says God didn’t give us![bctt tweet="If fear doesn't come from God, who do you think it comes from?"]In a very real sense, many believers struggling with indifference have accepted the lies of the enemy and rejected the gifts of God. When we choose fear, it’s like leaving the gifts of power, love, and self-control beautifully wrapped underneath the Christmas tree. Instead, we’ve gone out and taken hold of the very thing God didn’t intend for us to have. We must reject fear.The second encouragement from Paul to Timothy that can help us beat the feeling of indifference is to “fan into flame the gift of God.” Whatever your gift is, whatever you’re good at that honors God, keep doing it! Fanning a flame takes a spark and turns it into a roaring fire. When you see God starting to use your gift, you can’t be indifferent.God has a unique gift and purpose within each of us. It’s only the enemy who’s content with our indifference. If you’re struggling, I encourage you to accept God’s provision, reject fear, and strengthen your gift.Your turn:

What provision do you need to accept? What fear do you need to reject? What gift do you need to strengthen?