Day 6 of Illumination: Don’t expect to receive anything from the Lord if you have no passion for Him

“Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭2:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It all started with reconnecting with an old friend on social media. The two old sweethearts enjoyed reminiscing about the “glory days.” Each of these people was married and neither saw what they were doing as being a threat to their marriage. But somehow or another, the interactions went from being on public display in social media to private messaging, and ultimately sneaking off to make phone calls. But, of course, it didn’t end there. Neither of these individuals was in a “bad” marriage, but the cares of life, the business of keeping a home, caring for children, and so on, had taken the excitement or passion out of their relationships. So, this other person comes on the scene—and not being involved in their daily “drama”—somehow offers an oasis, a place to laugh, and finally, a place for passion.

The scenario I have just described is not an isolated event; it happens all the time. Even in Christian marriages where there is the best of intentions, something can sneak in “under the radar” and destroy the relationship.

Whereas this is the case in romantic relationships, it can also happen in relationship with the Lord.

Many times, the person who has just received the Lord, will be thrilled with the load of sin being lifted off their shoulders. But given time, their passion for the Lord can be replaced by something else. Oddly enough, sometimes that something else can be ministry itself. Sadly, they don’t realize that their passion for the Lord is gone, until one day, they find themselves dry and just “going through the motions.”

The Lord speaking in The Revelation points out that the church at Ephesus—although they were doing good works and refraining from sin—no longer had passion for the Lord.

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2:4-5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In our opening scripture we see that the speaker is warning their beloved against allowing the “little foxes” to spoil the vine. What the speaker is saying is that the couple must not allow anything to sneak in to their relationship and destroy their passion for one another. The metaphor of the “little foxes” is referencing the fact that foxes (which naturally have short legs), in order to reach the ripe grapes, would gnaw the vine off so that it would fall to the ground and they could reach the fruit. This process didn’t just rob the vineyard owner of his grapes, but also robbed him of the vine that produced the fruit.

Remember, if the enemy of your soul cannot reach you one way (like a direct frontal attack), he will try to sneak in and disconnect your passion from the Lord. Don’t let that happen.

We light a sixth candle of illumination today by knowing this:

You can’t expect to receive anything from the Lord if you have no passion for Him.

#25daysofillumination