***Listen To Audio Version: Restoring Love Audio 623
Today’s Devotional Scripture: “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.”
- Revelation 2:4–5 KJV
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.”
- Song of Solomon 6:3 KJV
The Message For Today (August 23, 2026):
***Listen To Audio Version: Restoring Love Audio 623
The faith walk is one of seasons. Much like the earth experiences summer, winter, spring, and fall, our spiritual walk can sometimes feel similar.
Those seasons with God when our relationship is strong, vibrant, and enjoyable are amazing. In those times, prayer is easy, not something we feel obligated to do but something we long to do.
We look forward to settling in with God’s word and allowing Him to speak to us through it. We anticipate those moments of worship when it flows from us…to Him. It feels like a personal connection, and we sense His presence near us throughout the day.
Then life happens. We get busy; distractions step in to compete for our attention. Responsibilities feel heavy and weigh us down. Disappointments settle and try to make a home in our hearts.
Suddenly, before we realize what has happened, our spiritual practices become routine. What once felt like an exciting love affair with the Lord now feels like a religious duty or obligation.
Prayer, Bible reading, and devotional moments risk becoming a checklist more than an act of love from a heart posture of surrender.
The joy fades. We may still do “all-the-things,” but it just doesn’t feel like our hearts are in it anymore. It can start to feel like God is far away…distant and aloof.
Revelation 2 talks about this condition when Jesus addresses the church at Ephesus.
They were working hard, serving diligently, and standing up for truth as much as they could. For anyone looking at them from the outside, everything looked right.
Yet Jesus saw beyond the surface…into what was happening in their hearts. They traded the love encounters with him for activity….
Activity that to the outsider looked holy, right, and even faithful.
But Jesus called them out to call them up, saying to them: “You have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:4)
It sounds like an accusation, but it’s not…it’s a plea to return.
What Do We Do When Faith Becomes A Checklist?
When Jesus called out the Church at Ephesus, he didn’t do it to cause them shame or to guilt them. He did it out of love for them, to draw them back to the joy that comes from an intimate relationship with Him.
It was a beautiful act of love…Jesus wanted them back.
It feels good when we know the people we love want to spend time with us…Jesus loves us, and He wants that quality time with us too.
The real gauge for spiritual health, then, is not the checklist we carry that says. “Yep, read my Bible today, check. Prayed today, check. Gave charity to someone in need today, check.”
Checklists are based on religious obligations, not Kingdom relationships. God wants us near His heart, in relationship with Him. Most of the time, the distance comes slowly, unintentionally, a slow fade…
What then is the real gauge?
The real gauge to our spiritual health is how much we crave and enjoy our time with the Lord, the one who loves us with a never-ending love. It’s a measure of the “first love…” Jesus was talking about in Revelation 2.
When the Lord brings attention to the distance between our heart and His, it’s because he wants to restore the childlike wonder that we had with Him in the early days. He wants the tenderness of our hearts, the fullness of our trust, and our sheer joy to be in His presence.
Three Steps To Return
In His appeal to the Church of Ephesus, Jesus gave them three instructions. He said, remember, repent, and return to what you used to do.
Remember.
Remember the way it used to be with Him in the beginning.
Remember how it felt to read your Bible, to pray, to worship.
Remember how it felt to love Him with everything in you.
Remember the verses that carried you through difficult times.
Remember the way He has always been faithful to you and how He carries you.
Remember the special moments you’ve shared. Remember when prayer was more a conversation than an obligation.
Remembering doesn’t mean living in the past or trying to recreate what once was. Our relationship with the Lord grows and develops as we mature, so it will be different now…
Rather, remembering is to reestablish the foundation of love, helping us have more awareness around where the drift from love to activity started.
Repent.
Repentance is a heart recognizing mistakes and being genuinely sorry. Not sorry because we got caught with something, but sorry because we understand our mistakes.
It also requires a behavioral change or shift. It is not repentance if we say “sorry” but keep doing the same things and repeating the same patterns.
So when the Lord says to the Church of Ephesus, “Repent,” He follows it with “do the first works.” That’s the return.
Repentance always involves a return to God…a return to the original form.
That’s why remembering is the first step. Before we can return, we have to remember what the first love was actually like, and repent for what pulled us away… distractions, life, obligations, worry, concern, hurt…
Return.
One of the most beautiful portraits of the love affair between God and His bride is found in Song of Solomon, Chapter 6, verse 3…
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”
This verse is rooted in identity, in understanding that we are “the beloved” of God. It is also one of belonging; we are His, and He is ours.
We don’t have to convince God to love us or win His affections; we already have it. Intimacy with God is not earned; it is a gift given.
He simply calls us to return to Him so we can experience it again.
The King Is Drawing Near
That’s the beauty of this season of Elul. The King is in the field. This presents Him as one who is present to meet with you in everyday life.
The Lord Jesus is King…and he is there “in the field” with you where you are.
He is present in the early morning silence when you first awaken; He is present as you prepare for your day, as you work, as you care for your home and family…
He is present in the mundane, every day, ordinary life…and He wants to meet with you.
He wants us to return to Him and converse, engage, and spend time with Him. Tell Him what’s on our heart, on our mind. Give Him our worries, our fears, our disappointments.
Ask Him questions…Seek His guidance and wisdom on decisions. This is what a relationship with someone you love looks like.
Jesus is sending an invitation in Revelation 2, not only to the Church of Ephesus…but also to us…
Maybe He’s saying…
“Hey, you’re doing a great job. I see all of your good works, but take a break from the doing, and return to being. Come spend some time with me…let’s return to how it used to be with us before the distractions, before the noise, before the demands of life…”
The invitation is to become aware and to be present…fully present once again.
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:8)
God is drawing nigh to us in this season. The King is in the field, and He wants to spend time with you.
God is not hiding. He is not withholding His presence until everything is perfect. He is inviting His beloved to come closer.
He’s saying … Return to me. Return to Love.
Returning To Love
It’s a choice, but an easy one. All we have to do is choose to make room for Him in our day again. It’s choosing to release what has been distracting or preventing us from those joy-filled intimate moments with Him.
The benefits are astounding when we do. Restored peace, renewed joy, rest in His beautiful presence…
And a return to the first love we shared with our beloved King.
Closing Devotional Prayer
My prayer for you:
Lord Jesus, I ask you to meet this precious woman of God in the regular moments of life this week…as she’s caring for all the things you have entrusted to her, may she feel your loving presence with her strongly. I ask you to silence and remove any voice of condemnation or guilt and help her step into the truth of your love.
Help her remember what it is like to be loved by you and to rest fully in your loving presence. I ask you to reveal and heal anything that has prevented her heart from being able to connect fully with you like it once did. Renew and restore her fervent passion and love for you and your word.
Increase her hunger for prayer and presence in this season. Restore unto her the joy of her salvation and the awestruck childlike wonder of the King. Even in the busyness and hurried nature of life, let her find a point of connection with you. And restore unto her the first love experience. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Written by Dr Krista Abbott
P.S. In the Meet The King challenge, we are leaning into renewed love with the Lord. It’s not too late to join; it’s a free self-guided experience to take you deeper in spiritual reflection, healing, and realignment with the heart of God. Learn more: MeetTheKingChallenge.com.
