Breaking Free from Complacency: Resting in Christ’s Love, Not Rekindling Effort
"Complacency fades as we abide in the warmth of Christ’s ever-present love."
Spiritual complacency is a challenge many believers face. It creeps in subtly, often masked by routine or discouragement, leaving us disengaged from the vibrancy of life in Christ. Nate Graham’s article, How Malachi Counseled Cold Complacency, offers a thoughtful analysis of spiritual apathy and how biblical counseling can address it. He rightly identifies complacency as a resistance to recognizing God’s love, and he sees Malachi’s message as an antidote—confronting Israel’s coldness not first with judgment, but with the unshakable love of God. Graham’s approach is well-grounded in Scripture, and his call for counselees to journal evidence of God’s preserving love is a practical step in renewing gratitude.
However, when examined through an exchanged life, Christ-centered, grace-oriented lens, a few key aspects deserve further consideration. While recognizing God's past faithfulness is important, true transformation does not come from rekindling effort or attempting to stir up obedience. The key is not in forcing passion to return but in yielding to the indwelling life of Christ. Complacency is not overcome by sheer willpower—it dissolves as we abide in His love, allowing the Holy Spirit to awaken renewed intimacy with the Father. Instead of trying to fix spiritual coldness, we rest in the sufficiency of Christ’s presence, trusting Him to express His life through us.
Let’s explore how an exchanged life perspective clarifies the path out of complacency—not by striving, but by surrendering to the One who is our life.
1. The Source of Transformation: Is It Externally Prompted or Internally Led?
Graham’s approach assumes that the counselee must recognize their complacency, repent, and refocus through deliberate acts of obedience—anticipating that their emotions and spiritual fervor will eventually follow. While obedience is certainly vital, this framework risks placing too much emphasis on external behavior modification rather than internal transformation through Christ’s indwelling life.
From an exchanged life perspective, the issue is not just that complacency leads to ingratitude, but that a believer can become disconnected from their conscious experience of Christ as their very life. Instead of focusing on stirring up obedience from duty, the true need is to return to a moment-by-moment dependence on Christ’s life within. Complacency is not overcome by sheer effort, but by yielding to the Spirit, trusting in Christ’s sufficiency, and allowing Him to express His life through us.
Malachi’s words were spoken to a people under the old covenant, still operating under a performance-based relationship with God. Under the new covenant, we live from the reality that Christ has already fulfilled the law and is presently living in and through us. The answer to complacency is not to rekindle human effort, but to recenter on Christ’s life as the source of all passion, joy, and obedience.
2. Recognizing God's Love vs. Abiding in It
Graham rightly identifies that Israel’s complacency stemmed from failing to recognize God’s love. His practical solution is for the believer to reflect on God’s preservation as proof of His love, using journaling as a tool for rekindling gratitude.
While gratitude is important, it is not the ultimate cure for complacency. The issue is deeper—it is a failure to abide in God’s love, not just to acknowledge it. Jesus said, "Abide in My love... Apart from Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:9,5). When believers are caught in complacency, the answer is not merely to remember past experiences of God’s love but to return to active abiding—to walk in the continual reality of His indwelling presence. This is not accomplished by self-examination but by yielding in trust to the Spirit’s prompting.
An exchanged life approach would move beyond listing external evidences of God’s love and instead call the believer to rest in the present reality of their union with Christ. Instead of simply recalling past blessings, we are to live in the continual flow of His life, letting Christ’s love express itself through us naturally, rather than through forced attempts at obedience.
3. Repentance in an Exchanged Life Context
Graham presents a structured approach to overcoming complacency:
Recognize complacency.
Repent.
Refocus.
Replace it with obedience.
This is a common framework in biblical counseling, but from a grace-oriented perspective, repentance is not merely about recognizing our wrongs and resolving to do better—it is about a renewed dependence on Christ as our functional source of life. True repentance means exchanging self-effort for the life of Christ.
A grace-based, Christ-centered approach would shift the emphasis from self-examination and correction to yielding—admitting that apart from Christ, we cannot muster passion or obedience, and instead trusting Him to live His life through us. Instead of replacing complacency with obedience, we rest in Christ’s sufficiency and respond to the Spirit’s leading, allowing obedience to flow naturally from the new life within us.
4. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Awakening Passion
Graham encourages practical steps, such as journaling and making active choices of obedience before emotions catch up. While there is some truth to the idea that faith precedes feeling, this approach can subtly promote a self-led model of sanctification rather than a Spirit-led one.
The Holy Spirit is the one who renews passion and love for God, not our own efforts to refocus. Romans 5:5 reminds us, "The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." We don’t rekindle love by sheer effort—we yield and trust the Spirit to rekindle it within us.
Instead of telling counselees to "repent and refocus," a more grace-oriented approach would be:
Stop striving—Admit that complacency cannot be broken through effort.
Surrender—Yield to Christ as your source of love, passion, and joy.
Rest—Trust that His love is fully present within you, waiting to be expressed as you abide in Him.
Conclusion: A Grace-Based Approach to Overcoming Complacency
Graham's article is a strong, biblically-rooted encouragement for believers to overcome spiritual coldness by reflecting on God's sovereign love. However, an exchanged life perspective would shift the focus from self-effort and behavior correction to Christ-dependence and Spirit-led renewal.
Rather than journaling external proofs of God’s love, believers should cultivate an active moment-by-moment abiding in Christ’s love, recognizing that the Holy Spirit is the one who keeps us from growing cold. Instead of urging obedience before passion returns, we encourage yielding to the Spirit and allowing His love to rekindle our hearts naturally.
Cold complacency is not broken by forcing warmth into a lifeless soul—it is dissolved by surrendering to the blazing presence of Christ already dwelling within.
Image Intent: A sunlit path breaking through a foggy forest, symbolizing awakening and renewed clarity.