We’ve talked about being sold out to God and understanding why we devote ourselves. Today, we need to address something important : the danger of losing your passion for God.

It happens more often than you think, and it’s usually gradual rather than sudden. One day you’re passionate about God, excited to pray, eager to worship, and moved by His Word. But over time, without even noticing, something shifts and the fire you once had begins to dim. Before you realize what has happened, you find yourself going through the motions of devotion without actually feeling the weight of what you’re doing.

This is what happened to the church in Ephesus. They were doing all the right things and working hard for God. They were doctrinally sound and standing against false teachers. But Jesus had one major issue with them.

Revelation 2:4-5 
New King James Version
4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

Jesus said they left their first love, and the word choice matters because it wasn’t that they lost it accidentally but that they left it. They were still serving and still busy and still active in ministry, but the love was gone and the passion had died. They were functioning without fire.

And here’s what you need to understand: God is not looking for religious performance, and He’s not impressed by activity without affection. He doesn’t want you going through the motions while your heart is somewhere else. He wants passionate, wholehearted devotion.

So how do you know if you’re losing your first love? How do you recognize when passion is fading?
Your Bible reading feels like an obligation. You used to open the Word with hunger and anticipation, but now it feels like a chore you need to check off your list.
Your prayer life has become one-sided and rushed. Instead of having real conversation with God, you’re talking at Him and running through your requests without pausing to listen.
You’re doing all the right things, but your heart isn’t in it. You show up to church and you serve and you participate in all the activities, but it’s mechanical and routine. There’s no joy bubbling up from within, no wonder at who God is, and no awe at what He’s done.

If any of this describes you, don’t panic but also don’t ignore it. Recognize it for what it is: spiritual complacency, and it’s dangerous. When you lose your passion for God, you lose the very thing that makes your light shine.

How does someone go from being on fire for God to going through the motions?
Sometimes it’s because devotion becomes repetitive and you do the same things every day until it starts to feel stale. Sometimes it’s because you’ve gotten distracted by the demands of life. Work requires more of your attention, relationships take up space, entertainment fills the gaps, and slowly without even realizing it, God gets pushed to the margins of your life instead of remaining at the center.

Sometimes it’s because you’ve stopped marveling at who God is and what He’s done for you. You’ve heard the gospel so many times that it doesn’t move you anymore, and you’ve grown familiar with grace to the point where familiarity has bred indifference.

But here’s the truth: the problem is not with God because He hasn’t changed. The problem is because you’ve stopped positioning yourself to encounter Him.
So, how do you rekindle the fire?
First, remember where you came from.
Revelation 2:5 says, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen,” 
This is where the journey back begins.

Go back to your first encounter with God and let yourself relive that moment. Do you remember what it felt like when you first understood the gospel and when you first experienced His love?
Don’t just think about it casually but actually sit with it and meditate on it. Let yourself feel the weight of what God saved you from and what He saved you for.

Psalm 103:2 
New King James Version
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Don’t forget what He’s done for you, and don’t let the miracle of salvation become mundane in your mind. You were dead and He made you alive. You were in darkness and He brought you into light. That should never stop moving you.

Second, ask God to renew your love for Him.
You can’t manufacture passion on your own, but you can confess that you’ve lost it and acknowledge that your heart has grown cold. And you can ask God to do what only He can do: renew your love for Him and restore the joy that once defined your relationship with Him.
That’s the prayer you need to pray, not once but continually until you feel the fire returning.

Third, do the first works.
Jesus told the Ephesians to do the first works, and that means you need to go back to the things you used to do when your love for God was fresh.
What did you do when you first got saved? Did you spend hours in prayer talking to God about everything? Did you devour the Word like someone who had discovered treasure?
Do that again, not out of duty or obligation but as an act of positioning yourself for encounter with God.

Spend time in God’s presence, meditate on His character and think about His faithfulness. Worship Him, not just with songs but with your life.

Fourth, guard your heart.
Once you’ve rekindled the fire, you need to protect it so it doesn’t go out again.

Proverbs 4:23 
New King James Version
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.

Don’t let complacency creep back in once God has restored your passion. Be intentional about staying close to God and fight for your devotion.

This is your Year of Light, and your light shines brightest when your heart is fully alive to God; when your passion is burning, your love is fresh and wonder fills your worship.

So if your passion has faded, don’t settle for it and don’t accept spiritual complacency as normal. Remember where you came from. Ask God to restore what’s been lost. Return to the first works. And watch God rekindle the fire that once burned bright in your heart.

Prayer Point
Father, as I pray, help me to position my heart rightly and renew my hunger in you. I guard my heart with all diligence and my devotion remains passionate, wholehearted, and alive.