Cynicism and Complacency Invaded His Heart

Friday, June 14, 2013       Jeremiah 32:27

Cynicism and Complacency Invaded His Heart

“He didn't finish very well...cynicism and complacency invaded his heart and he never got over it.” This is how my friend described a colleague at the time of his retirement. How sad. When I last had contact with my colleague, the fires of ministry were still burning brightly in him. The Apostle Paul describes the joy of finishing strongly; however far too often, cynicism and complacency win out over fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and remaining faithful. (2 Timothy 4:7) This unfortunate reality is true in all professions, all lives, not just Christian ministry.

In my own life, I was very sensitive to this issue. I had seen too many colleagues at retirement ceremonies express more cynicism and complacency than Paul’s joy in finishing the race. I very much wanted to finish my pastoral ministry with joy and then move on to the next race the Good Master had planned for me. However there were days when my physical weariness, or frustration with the institutional mentality of denominational bureaucracy, summoned me close to cynicism and complacency. One scripture that helped me on those occasions was the powerful message from the Lord to Jeremiah:  “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27).

On the dark days, I would remember that Corrie ten Boom said, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.” So it is in life also. On the dark days when adverse circumstances come into my life, I’ve learned to trust by faith that God is at work. I may not see clearly or fully understand His working, but as I heard it said in a song one time, “when you can’t see his hand, trust his heart” (Cynthia Clawson, Trust His Heart (Words Will Never Do, 1990))

It is vitally important for us to remember that the Bible is not a collection of stories about what happened to other people. It is our story. “For the word of God is alive and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). Because it is our story, the Bible can become incarnational to us. If you are like me you may have read Philippians 4:6 dozens of times and received it as information, or maybe even inspiration: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Then there was that day when you were tired, even weary, and perhaps ready to give up. You turned again to that familiar passage, only this time verse seven became alive in you: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Take comfort that our God of all the peoples of the world, for whom nothing is too hard, will see us through the difficult times so that we can sing with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.