“And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ’The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet ‘Go to this people, and say, ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.’ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 

Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.’“

Acts 28:25-28 (ESV) 

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JULY 1, 2025

As Paul speaks to a group of Jews in Rome, he uses Isaiah 6:9-10 to describe their condition. These people spent a lot of time studying the scriptures. Yet it seems they didn’t allow the living, breathing Word of God to transform them from the inside out and bring them to their knees.  

Paul convicts them by saying that their hearts have grown dull. What is a heart that has grown dull? In the Bible, those who have a dull heart are complacent. They are not growing. They are comfortable. They don’t care. Those with dull hearts have apathetic hearts.  

As someone who has struggled for many years with depression and anxiety, I know firsthand that not caring can be a part of depression. But spiritual complacency is different. I have been in the middle of depression and still cried out to God on a regular basis. The Holy Spirit gave me the strength to keep seeking and hungering after God.  

We can be spiritually complacent when things are hard or when things are great. Complacency means we are not hungry for God; we lack the humility to learn truth because we are so confident in our knowledge. If we are not seeking to grow, then we are complacent. The Holy Spirit can teach us no matter our age, no matter how long we have been a believer, no matter how much or how little we have studied the scriptures—even from a passage we have read too many times to count!  

 Though our feelings and desires come and go, ebb and flow, our lives should be marked by an appetite for God and God’s Word, and a gratitude for how He chooses to feed us.  

 Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • How would you describe your life of faith right now? 
  • Spend some time alone with the Holy Spirit and ask for grace to give you greater hunger and a desire to grow. If you are in a season of complacency, repent and turn to Jesus Christ who has forgiven all things.  
  • What life situations cause our hearts to grow dull or simply assist the dulling process?   

 Church Reading Plan: Joshua 3; Psalm 126-128