How to Restore Your Passion for God According to Jesus
In the second chapter of Revelation, Jesus addresses the church in Ephesus. He highlights a crucial issue: these believers have lost their first love. Although they hold to sound theology and perform good deeds, their passion for God has waned.
They aren’t alone.
This serves as a vital lesson for all believers—no matter how much good we do, a devoted love for God must always take priority in our lives.
A devoted love for God must always take priority in our lives.
Despite all that God is and does to fuel our love for Him, a thousand things can douse it. Busyness, exhaustion, and sin can douse passion’s flames. Fame, worldly treasures, physical pleasures, and any number of things can capture our hearts and become more prominent to us than God.
So if you find yourself seeking happiness and fulfillment and joy in lesser things, if you’re out of touch with God, how can you restore your passion for God? Jesus offers three essential steps in Revelation 2:5:
1. Remember your first love
Remember your initial passion when you first believed the gospel and started following Jesus. Rekindle the overwhelming sense of forgiveness, acceptance, and love you experienced. Recall the awe-inspiring greatness of God and His deep love for you. Look directly at God through the eyes of your early faith.
2. Repent and return to God
Repentance is not about feeling guilty or making empty promises. It is not a penance word, it’s a relational word, a love word. To repent means to return to God and draw near to Him again. Confess any sins or distractions that have turned you from Him. Repentance allows you to restore your fellowship with God, just as the prodigal son was restored to his father when he returned.
3. Repeat. Do what you did when you were most on fire
Recall and repeat your actions when you were on fire for God. Even if you don’t feel the same level of passion now, repeat those actions. Immerse yourself in God’s Word, and engage in prayer and worship. Set aside time to listen to God and then say “YES” to God. That’s so important. Submit to His love in His Word. Let Him love and lead you in life. I.e., Obey Him—walk with Him. Reengage with His church if you’ve strayed from this.
As you mature in your love and knowledge of God, let your passion be the driving force behind sharing His love with those around you.
Christianity promises a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and eternal salvation by grace alone. Yet, in the busyness of life, we may allow our love for Him to grow weak. Today, remember your first love, recall the reasons you loved God in the first place; return to Him, trust Him to welcome and receive you; and engage in actions that foster faith, love, and relationship. He will restore you to Himself, offering you abundant rewards now and in the future.