"SPEAK!" Life, Hope, Truth, Love, Faith...
“Complacency is a poison, taken one drop at a time. It steals all our passion and confuses our mind.”
When God gave me this poem, that opening stopped me — because it doesn’t describe the enemy I expected. I expected to go to battle with a roaring lion. Instead, He showed me our own slow fade. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to compromise their life and their witness. It happens one drop at a time: one missed quiet time with God (then another), one difficult conversation avoided, one truth swallowed because it felt easier not to say it. Complacency doesn’t announce itself. It just quietly steals your passion and clouds your mind until one day you realize you’ve stopped speaking His truth at all.
““And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15 NLT)
Here’s what I’ve come to understand: truth is not an argument to win. Truth is a Person to know — and to make known. The only way to prevent slipping into complacency is to draw near to God every day through Jesus.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
He didn’t say I will show you the truth, though He does. He said He is Truth. And that changes everything about how we speak it. We’re not debaters defending a position. The poem says it beautifully: “We are His bride, and He is our groom.” A bride doesn’t argue people into loving her groom — she just can’t stop talking about him. That’s what speaking truth looks like. Speaking truth through love and from love.
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.” (Ephesians 4:15)
But love that never speaks isn’t love — it’s sentiment. That’s why the poem turns: “We all must rise up and fight the good fight. He is not well pleased if we don’t shine His light.” Those are strong words, and I’ll be honest — they’ve convicted me. Because there have been times I chose convenience over conviction. Times I felt the nudge to speak and chose the easier silence instead. Remember, complacency comes one drop at a time.
I learned this the hard way. When God first led us to share Kristen’s story publicly, He warned me there would be people who would not believe it. And some haven’t — there have been skeptics, critics, people who decided our testimony couldn’t be true. My human instinct said “stay quiet, stay safe, protect your story”. But that wasn’t God’s plan. So we declared His truth in spite of our reservations — “it is what we must do.”
And here’s what I found: the truth didn’t need my protection. It needed my voice. Every time we shared it, we planted a seed or watered one someone else had planted. Each time you share your testimony of God’s grace, someone may step a little more out of darkness and a little further into His light.
That’s the pattern, and it’s the same for you. “The light, it has come to give us new life” — not new information, new life.
“Speak His truth into others, show them He cares. His Life for our own is what we must share.”
Notice the order: His life for ours first — received — then shared. We don’t speak truth to prove we’re right. We speak it because it’s a gift we’ve been given:
“we aren’t meant to hide it, but to give it away.”
So let me ask you the uncomfortable question the poem asks me: where has complacency been slipping into your life? Not in some dramatic rebellion — in the small silences. The coworker you never told. The neighbor you keep meaning to invite. The truth you soften until it isn’t true anymore. One drop at a time, the poison works. But one word at a time, the antidote works too.
You don’t need a seminary degree or a perfect track record. We need the honesty to admit the drift and step forward to change our course. And throughout the struggle remember:
“He went to the Father to prepare us a room. We’ll meet Him there when our time here is through.”
That’s not just our future — it’s our message to the world. “Speak Truth”!
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.” (Prov 3:5-8)
A moment to reflect:
- Where has complacency been slipping into your life — what fears have silenced your voice ?
- When you think of speaking truth, do you picture conflict or conversation. Do you see a struggle or rescue? Remember, the essence is leading people to Jesus and into the Light?
- Who in your life needs to hear His truth from you, not as criticism but love that grows into words?
A prayer to pray:
Jesus, You are the Truth. Forgive me for the comfortable silences — the drops of complacency that stole my passion and quieted my voice. Give me courage to rise up, to declare Your Good News, to speak Your truth into others and show them You care. Let me share Your light and call them out of darkness into intimacy with You. Your life for mine — and mine for others. Amen.
SPEAK TRUTH
Complacency is a poison
Taken one drop at a time
It steals all our passion
And confuses our mind
We all must rise up
And fight the good fight
He is not well pleased
If we don’t shine His light
The Light, it has come
To give us new life
To love and to cherish
Like a husband, his wife
We are His bride
And He is our groom
He went to the Father
To prepare us a room
We’ll meet Him there
When our time here is through
So we declare His Good News
It is what we must do
Speak His truth into others
Show them He cares
His Life for our own
Is what we must share
