SPIRITUAL STAGNATION

                                                

“It will come about at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!'” (Zephaniah 1:12) (NASV)

These are difficult times. The church is striving to re-define itself. A friend told me about how he struggles to follow online services due to short attention span. I told him about how I often fall asleep during zoom prayer meetings too. With this volatile environment we have found ourselves as a result of COVID-19, it is easy to slide into spiritual stagnation. Stagnation: uninterested, indifferent, lazy, purposeless, sluggish, inactive, lifeless.

Perhaps the analogy of water stagnation may help us understand the meaning of spiritual stagnation. Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing because of a blockage in the pipe or channel that usually enhances its flow. This is not a particularly hygienic thing because of mosquitoes or other infection-carrying flies. And if nothing is done after a while, the water starts to change colour and produce a foul smell. The only way to avoid water stagnation either in the kitchen or toilet sink or  any kind of drainage system is to clean up every clog and ensure a regular water flow. This is exactly what obtains in the spiritual realm. If we have no oil in our lamp, we cannot be on fire for God. If we do not exercise spiritual discipline, we cannot enjoy the fullness of God. The Hebrew word for stagnation translates as “shrinking”.  Hence,

To be spiritually stagnant is to shrink in terms of your spiritual capacity.

To be spiritually stagnant is to no longer find the things of the spirit very appealing

To be spiritually stagnant is to not be where you are supposed to be spiritually

To be spiritually stagnant is to lose appetite for fellowship with God and with the brethren

To be spiritually stagnant is to see church attendance as another mindless routine

To be spiritually stagnant is to have a dying (or dead) hunger for deep things of God

To be spiritually stagnant is to be comfortable in your spiritual complacency

To be spiritually stagnant is to experience a stunted growth in the secret place

To be spiritually stagnant is to be met with lethargy in your daily devotional life

Spiritual stagnation does not necessarily mean that you have backslidden or that you have become an apostate although you might be just on your way to becoming exactly that. Spiritual stagnation can potentially lead to spiritual barrenness; we know the lot of the spiritually barren, don’t we? (Luke 13:6-9).

If you still do not get it, then you need to ask yourself if the more you know God, the more you want to know him. Three ways to know if you are spiritually stagnant or not:

1. the last time you opened your Bible and felt ministered to by the words on its pages,
2. the last time you went on your knees in prayer and stood up feeling purged
3. and the last time you shared the word of God with others.

Do not be dismayed if this is your current reality. Instead, cry out to God knowing full well that He is the one who works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Ask the Holy Spirit to stir you within because spiritual things sometimes need to be stirred up for them not to become moribund (2 Peter 1:15). Ask God to bring you to a state of renewed spiritual vitality and bring your mind to a constant flow of his Living Word.

You have not been called to be a stagnant pond. You are meant to be like a spring of water (Isaiah 58:11).

May you not be spiritually stagnant. May rivers of living water flow out of your belly (John 7:38)