It is easy to get comfortable in our routine, especially when things are going well. But a dangerous trap faces every believer and every church: complacency.
When we become satisfied with past victories, we stop pressing forward. Scripture warns that spiritual stagnation is dangerous to our faith. If we want to experience true revival, we must examine our hearts and make an intentional attitude change.
1. The Danger of Being Lukewarm
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus gives a sobering warning to the church of Laodicea—a church that had fallen into the trap of complacency:
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” — Revelation 3:15–16
The Laodiceans weren’t necessarily doing evil things; they were just comfortable. They felt they had need of nothing (Revelation 3:17). When we lose our passion, hunger, and drive for the things of God, we enter a dangerous spiritual state. God doesn’t want half-hearted devotion; He desires a church that is on fire for His kingdom.
2. Settling on the Lees
The Old Testament prophet Zephaniah spoke directly to the consequences of a complacent lifestyle:
“And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.” — Zephaniah 1:12
To be “settled on the lees” is an agricultural metaphor for wine that has sat undisturbed for too long, becoming thick, stagnant, and sour. When believers settle, they adopt a passive mindset, believing God won’t move or intervene. Complacency blinds us to our need for daily prayer, fasting, and reaching the lost.
3. Shaking Off Spiritual Slumber
How do we break out of complacency? It begins with a command found throughout scripture: awake from your slumber.
“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” — Ephesians 5:14
We cannot afford to sleep through the hour we are living in. The Apostle Paul reminds us that “now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11). Breaking complacency requires an active shake-up of our daily spiritual habits. We must stir up the gift within us (2 Timothy 1:6) and pursue God with renewed urgency.
4. The Antidote: A Hunger for Righteousness
The ultimate cure for a complacent attitude is a desperate hunger for more of God. Jesus laid out this promise clearly in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” — Matthew 5:6
When you are full of the world, you have no appetite for the things of God. But when you fast, pray, and empty yourself of worldly satisfaction, God promises to fill you to overflowing. We must never stop reaching, growing, and praying for the next breakthrough.
Make the Shift Today
Complacency tells you that you’ve done enough, prayed enough, and given enough. But God is calling us to deeper waters.
Let’s heed the warning of Amos 6:1, which declares, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” Let’s repent of stagnation, shake off the spirit of slumber, and ask God to renew a right spirit within us (Psalm 51:10). The greatest days of revival are ahead, but they belong to those who refuse to sit still.
Amos 6:1-3 (NIV)
6 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!
2 Go to Kalneh and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,
and then go down to Gath in Philistia.
Are they better off than your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.