What causes us to lose our love and passion for Jesus Christ?
David wrote Psalm 145 as a psalm of praise. He passionately pursued God, and this psalm shows us what was important to David and what deepened his love and passion for God. If you want to grow in your love for God, follow David’s example.
Beware of the subtle steps to losing your passion for God.
1. Take days off from praising God.
David extolled and praised God every day and vowed to do that forever (Psalm 145:1-2, 21). He didn’t take a day off from praising God and his love for God grew.
- Praise: What is one thing you have praised God for in the past 24 hours?
2. Minimize the greatness of God.
David recognized the greatness of God, and he acknowledged that God’s greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3). He didn’t minimize God’s greatness.
- Greatness: How have you seen God’s greatness this past week?
3. Never tell others how God has worked in and around you.
David was committed to declaring to others all that God had done and he exhorted others to do the same (Psalm 145:4, 6, 11-12).
- Declare: Share with someone this week something God has done for you recently – an answered prayer, guidance, a resolved problem, an opened door.
4. Forget to meditate on God’s majesty and His works.
David committed to meditating on God’s glorious splendor of His majesty and on God’s wonderful works (Psalm 145:5).
- Meditate: What is one thing you will meditate on this week that displays God’s majesty and works? (Examples: something in nature, animals, your children…)
5. Stop celebrating God’s character.
David celebrated God’s character in Psalm 145:7-9, 17.
- Character: Which attribute(s) of God will you celebrate today?
6. Don’t give thanks.
David understood the importance of giving thanks to God consistently (Psalm 145:10). He sometimes began his psalms with a complaint or discouragement, but he always ended with praise and thanksgiving to God.
- Thank you: What is one thing you’re thankful for today?
7. Look to others instead of God to meet your needs.
David knew that our needs can only be met completely in God. He sustains us, He raises us up when we’re down, and He gives us what we need in His timing (Psalm 145:14-16). By looking to others instead of God, we are opening ourselves up to disappointment, discouragement, and frustration, resulting in anger toward God.
- Provision: Write down a way that God has provided for your needs recently.
8. Stop calling on God.
David said it clearly in Psalm 145:18: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.” David never stopped crying out to God and calling to Him for help, for strength, for justice, for comfort. If we stop calling on Him, we’ll soon feel that God is distant and uninvolved in our lives and our love for Him will diminish.
- Prayer: What is something that would hinder you or has hindered you from calling out to God in prayer? Ask God to remove that hindrance.
9. Stop fearing God.
David understood the importance of fearing God (Psalm 145:19). He knew that fear of God, and not our desires, should be our priority. Fear God, reverence Him, and He will take care of our desires. The more we fear God, the more our desires align with HIs desires, and He will fulfill them in His way and in His timing.
- Reverence: What is one way you can demonstrate to God your reverence or fear for Him?
10. Stop loving God. (v. 20)
David wrote in Psalm 145:20, “The Lord keeps all who love Him…” What a great promise.
- Love for God: Do you love God today more or less than you did a year ago, a month ago? Why?
How do we stay deeply in love with God? Avoid doing these 10 things.
