Returning to Your First Love

For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Isaiah 30:15


Being in the valley is no fun. In fact, it can be down right miserable and lonely. I know it has been for me. I can remember one particular night just pacing the floor, crying out to God, my body wracked with sobs. In my mind, a battle was raging between good and evil. I found myself wishing I could just pick up a gun and shoot the devil or brandish a sword and lop off one of his arms. My brothers and sisters in Christ - we have that power! God has given us a gun, a sword. Ephesians calls it the Sword of the Spirit. It is the Word of God! That is our weapon against the evil one. And if we want to win the battle for our minds, we need to be filling our minds up with the Word of God! It's what Jesus used when He was tempted in the desert. It's what we must do!

Isaiah says that we will be delivered by "returning and resting." I pray that you are intimately spending time with the Lord daily. But if you are not, return to Him! He desires to commune with you. To hear your hurts, your fears, your praises, your thanks. Return to the Lord! Feel the power that being a child of the King can bring to your weary soul!

God tried desperately to get my attention for months, seeking my return to His waiting arms. But pride stood in my way. I thought I was handling everything just fine on my own. We all know how well that works out. And eventually, God had to break me to get my attention. I am now seeking after Him in a way that I haven't in years....maybe ever. The path to "returning" was not easy. Being broken was horrible and humbling. But the benefits are immeasurable! I have this thirst for the Word that I just can't satisfy! And that is my prayer for you. Return to the Lord. Let Him hold you and fill you up to the measure of all fullness!

I pray that Jesus never looks at me again and says, "You have forsaken your first love." (Rev. 2:4)

Have you forgotten what it feels like to be madly in love with your Saviour? I think we can all benefit from praying these words of David:

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Psalm 51:10-12


Return to the Lord, my friends! Remember the joy of when you first believed!