Has your relationship with Jesus lost its strength?

What can damage your relationship with Jesus

At one point, you had a close relationship with Jesus, and He was at the center of your life. Now some time has passed, and you may sense that you do not have that same intimate relationship that you once had with Him. You might wonder: What has happened and what can be done to renew the relationship?

First, we can consider what may have caused your close bond with Jesus to lose strength. One possibility is that you inwardly said “no” to a step on your path that He was leading you upon. For example, it may have been putting right a previous wrongdoing, asking someone for forgiveness, taking a stand with people that could hinder you from doing His will, or giving up something of this world. Whatever it was, you can recall that you did not do it. This would make it difficult to keep a strong relationship, because if you were to read the Bible or pray, for example, you would be convicted of that which you did not do. Another possible cause could be that the cares and busyness of life, little by little, “choked” the word of God from your heart (see Matthew 13:1-23, and especially verse 22). Your thoughts became taken up more and more with the earthly matters and less and less about doing God’s will. If either of these developments occurred, it would have caused your bond with Jesus to weaken.

Hope for renewal and strengthening

Yet there is still great hope for your fellowship with Him to be renewed. God sent His Son to the world because He loves people (John 3:16), and His desire is that your strong connection with Jesus be restored. We can see this in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, about a man who asks his father for his inheritance and, when he is given it, wastes it on sinful living. Once the son acknowledges that he was heading down a futile path, he decides to return to his father’s house as a hired servant. To the son’s surprise, the father welcomes him back with open arms. This exemplifies Jesus’ longing for you to renew the relationship you had previously experienced with Him.

In Revelation 2:1-7, we read about an angel (elder) of a church that had lost his first love for Jesus. He was given this advice: ^“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works.” Revelation 2:5. When you express your regret to Jesus for not being fully devoted to doing His will and renew your commitment to do only what pleases Him (which are the first works), you will experience what Jesus told another leader of a church: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.

Faithfulness to your renewed covenant with Jesus will give strength to your relationship with Him. Reading in the Bible and praying will again empower you to do His will. You can also pray that God open doors for you to receive the encouragement that comes from fellowship with other people committed wholly to doing all the will of God. Jesus will then have an example in you that others, who are experiencing a similar weakening in their relationship to Him, can follow.