I can look back on times when I was running full tilt for Jesus. His presence felt real. He occupied my thoughts throughout the day. I saw him using me in amazing ways. He wasn’t just a concept to me; he was real.

But there have also been times (more than I’d like to admit) when I’ve had little passion for Jesus.

I allowed my love for him to slowly seep through the cracks until I became numb, just going through the motions. I’d run on empty for a while, deluded into attempting life on my own, but then I’d begin to feel it: the heavy weight of having no clear purpose, that pulsing ache of missing God.

Why do we lose our passion?

Sometimes it’s easy to spot the problem. There’s some blatant sin we’ve let fester and steal our joy. When this happens, most of us know the way back to joy. We take our sin to the cross, tell God about it honestly and ask him for a fresh start. Then we invite his Spirit to enable us to obey in his strength.

But sometimes our passion whittles away for more subtle reasons. We’re just plain tired from dealing with a whole list of work and family responsibilities. A conflict is wearing on our mind. There are also all the entertainment and media filling our evenings and gluing us to our phones, the constant assault of reasons to put off reading our Bible and talking with God.

How do we rediscover a passion for God?

Contrary to much Christian thinking, there are not five steps to follow or ten things to do. It really starts with one thing — inviting the Spirit to enable you to fix your eyes on Jesus (2 Corinthians 3.17-21; Hebrews 12.1-4). Look again at all that Jesus is and all that he has done, is doing, and will do for you. Remind yourself of the depths from which he rescued you, and what it cost him to do so. Become captivated by the beauty of Jesus once again and ask him to reignite the passion that fizzled out.

You can start that conversation right now with these simple words:

Jesus, I miss you.

Have you lost your passion for God and are finding it difficult to return to your first love? Use the form below to talk with one of our confidential mentors.

updated September 2019

Photo Credit: Zachary Staines