Do you ever have crazy dreams at night? Last night was full of vivid dreams for me. Wild, unsettling, and uncomfortable. Although things didn’t flow in a logical way or make sense, as dreams often don’t, there was an underlying theme of angst and end-times, world-falling-apart, losing our way of life catastrophe. In my dream, I remember crying out, “God, please make things go back to normal!”
And His response shook me. I can’t get it out of my mind.
“Why would you want things to go back to normal? Everyone was so complacent.”
Wow.
Just… wow.
Complacent.
Merriam-Webster: satisfied with how things are and not wanting to change them
Thefreedictionary.com: self-satisfied; smug; unbothered
Dictionary.com: pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied:
Cambridge: feeling so satisfied with your own abilities or situation that you feel you do not need to try any harder
I was reading in Matthew 20 this morning, and verses 29-34 speak of Jesus healing two blind men. They called out to Jesus when they heard he was passing by. “Lord, have mercy on us!”
Jesus stopped and asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They responded, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”
Vs. 34 “And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed Him.”
σπλαγχνίζομαι
(splagchnizomai)
This looks like a mouthful in Greek, and it’s fun to try to say.
It’s translated as “in pity” in the above translation of the verse, but really means “moved with compassion.”
Jesus IS compassion. He didn’t have to stop to talk to these guys calling out to Him. He had important things to do. But he heard them. He saw them. He stopped, and said, “what do you want me to do for you?”
He was moved with compassion for them and opened their eyes. Just as He is moved with compassion for us.
I wonder if in our complacency we have forgotten to call out to Him.
I wonder if our busy, burdened, crazy lives have crowded out our ability to notice that He is passing by. He is in our neighborhood. Do we see Him?
Or are we so self-satisfied that we don’t see our need for Him?
“What do you want me to do for you?”
Jesus – open our eyes. Help us to see YOU. Don’t let us be complacent. Don’t let us miss what You are doing.
Please.
Don’t let us be so self-satisfied and miss how much you want to partner with us, help us, and live through us.
Please.