"Oh, that I were as in months past” (Job 29:2)

After a few years of walking with God, you’ll be tempted to look back on the excitement of the past with,  “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me” (Job 29:2), but longing for past excitement may be a subtle way of avoiding responsibility for your present condition.

Christians don’t lose their ability to disobey God when they’re saved. God wants us to voluntarily obey His commands and willingly submit to His agenda every new day. Walking in the Holy Spirit is an immediate experience, and living by faith is now. When you begin to lose your “first love” (Revelation 2:4), you’ll gradually slack off prayer, Bible reading, and good works, and even if they continue, they’ll be as mechanical and cold as your heart toward God. There’ll be no passion for intimacy with Him, so the time you spend with God will be short and rushed. People always find time for the things they love, and if you fall out of love with God, the result is inevitable.

The Bible is clear, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). You’ll be tempted to think He’s changed in His love and care for you, but this is most likely a delusion. Saints who think God has left them should go back to where they left God. Earnestly seek God as you did when you first knew Him. “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6).

So return to prayer, Bible reading, and good works. You’ll find your heart has been captured by things of the world; your affections have been set on the things that you once thought vain. Christ must be loved first and best. He will withdraw the sunshine of His presence from a cold, wandering heart. Don’t stay in the dumps. “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works” (Revelation 2:5). For more on this subject, click here.