When you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Spirit of God enters your life and confirms that a new relationship has been established with God. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

God’s Spirit within you generates love for God and His Word. He also gives you understanding of God’s truth and teaches you to obey it. (See John 14:27.) As you are dependent on God for your strength and are obedient to His Word, you experience “first love” for the Lord.

It is easy, however, to grieve the Spirit of God and leave your first love. When Jesus addressed the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:2–5, he spoke of this very issue. “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil … . Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works … .”

Remember Your Daily Need for God

Leaving your first love for the Lord does not occur because you’ve failed to work hard for God. The church in Ephesus was faithful in many spiritual disciplines, laboring diligently for God and His kingdom. God recognized these works, but He longed for the love relationship with Him that they had forsaken.

A believer leaves his first love for the Lord when he loses his daily awareness of his great need for God. Your need for God and His provision for you are the very motivations that brought you to salvation. However, as you experience abundant life in Christ (see John 10:10), unfortunately you will be tempted to focus on God’s gifts to you and not on your personal relationship with Him. You may become “rich, and increased with goods” (Revelation 3:17) and foolishly believe that you have no more needs. Then you lose your first love for the Lord, because you no longer recognize your true state of wretchedness. (See Psalm 16:2.)

Learn From the Example of Israel

God led Israel out of the bondage of Egypt to the Promised Land. With each step of the journey, they encountered needs that they could not meet: deliverance from the pursuing Egyptian army, food and water in the barren desert, and direction on where and when to move. Throughout those years of wandering in the wilderness, God did not allow the Israelites to plant crops or build houses. They were totally dependent on His provision, direction, and protection.

When the Israelites reached the Promised Land, God warned them not to forsake their devotion to Him and not to give themselves credit for their prosperity. “Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein … and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God … Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness … and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:11–17).

Before long, the Israelites followed the very path of which God had warned them. As they enjoyed the abundant provision of the Promised Land, they forgot the idea of day-by-day provision for their needs. They no longer counted on the hand of God for bread, but rather trusted in the work of their own hands to raise crops and gain wealth. Soon, they forsook God’s instructions and began to worship false gods.

Don’t Let Blessings Blind You

The very same sequence can take place in your life today. When you are well fed for the present and feel secure in the future, you may begin to believe that you can avoid the consequences of disobeying God’s commands. Your fear of the Lord will wane as you do things that displease Him. You will not fear His failure to take care of you in the future, because you will forget what it is like to have unmet needs.

This bent leads to attempts to base the security of your life on money, people, positions, or possessions. These things—blessings in and of themselves—breed a spirit of idolatry when you expect from them what only God can provide.

Turn to God to Meet Your Needs

When problems threaten your security, you will experience fear. Feelings of fear can serve as a warning to remind you of your need for God. At that point, you would be wise to discern if you have transferred your dependence on Him to something or someone else.

You are probably keenly aware of your physical needs, but you also should be alert to your spiritual, mental, and emotional needs. The more you are aware of all these needs, the more you will realize your utter need for God, every moment of every day. Your own abilities, wisdom, strength, and resources cannot meet your needs. Only God can faithfully provide all that you need.

When God provides for your needs, beware of the temptation to become proud and think that somehow you actually met those needs. Cherish your dependence on God by looking for evidence of His tender mercies in your life and expressing gratitude for His provision. (See Psalm 51.)

Remember, Repent, and Do the “First Works”

When Jesus spoke to the church that had left their first love, He warned them: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works” (Revelation 2:5). If you have forsaken your first love for the Lord, you, too, can repent.

• Recall the fervent love for God that you experienced when you first became His child, at the time of your salvation. Take time to recall ways that He has protected you, guided you, blessed you, and poured out His love upon you. If possible, review past journal entries or scrapbooks to remind you of the joy of your salvation and God’s transforming work in your life.
• Focus on what is eternal, instead of on the temporal. Has your delight in God weakened? Consider the words of our Lord Jesus: “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
• Turn to God in repentance and receive His restoring forgiveness. (See 1 John 1:9.) Repentance involves grief over sin and a change of direction: forsake the thoughts, attitudes, decisions, and actions that led you to grow cold toward the Lord.
• Do the “first works” of your faith. Spend time with the Lord. Draw near to Him. (See Psalm 73:28, Hebrews 10:22, and James 4:8.) Talk to Him; read His Word; choose to trust Him, love Him.
• Wait upon the Lord. King David’s words again provide us with wisdom and insight about maintaining our first love: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:5–8).
• Obey Him. “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (I John 2:3–5).

Your Lord wants to have a rich, vibrant relationship with you. He is your Father, and He loves you with an everlasting love. He sent His Son to earth to pay the penalty for your sin and rebellion against Him. While He was on the earth, Jesus revealed the Truth so “that … [His] joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11).

If you have forsaken your first love, do not continue on that path, for it leads to destruction. Instead, repent and seek the Lord with your whole heart. God’s Word says, “Thou [God] wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Do not settle for anything less than the rich relationship God desires to have with you, the riches of knowing Him. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you …” (Jeremiah 29:11–14a).