Have you ever continued doing all the right things while quietly realizing that your heart no longer feels as close to Jesus as it once did?
You may still attend church, read your Bible, serve others, and believe all the right things. Yet something inside feels different. Prayer has become routine. Worship has lost its wonder. Distractions have slowly replaced devotion.
That is where the season of Elul speaks so powerfully.
Elul is the final month of the Hebrew civil year and a season of preparation leading into the fall biblical holidays of Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets; Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; and Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Traditionally, Elul begins a 40-day journey of spiritual awakening, examination, repentance, and renewal.
The central message of this season is one Hebrew word:
Teshuvah.
Teshuvah means to return.
Elul is not about earning God’s love or salvation through religious works. It is a loving invitation to turn away from whatever has distracted us and come home to the God who has never stopped loving us.
Teshuvah Is More Than Feeling Sorry
Repentance is sometimes presented only as feeling guilty about something we have done wrong. But teshuvah carries a deeper meaning.
- It means turning around.
- It means changing direction.
- It means leaving behind the attitudes, habits, distractions, and compromises that have pulled us away from God and deliberately returning to Him.
Teshuvah is not merely saying, “I am sorry.” It is saying, “Lord, I am coming back.”
- We return to His presence.
- We return to His Word.
- We return to prayer.
- We return to obedience.
- We return to the purpose He placed upon our lives.
Most importantly, we return to Jesus.
You Can Be Busy for God and Still Drift From God
In Revelation 2, Jesus spoke to the church at Ephesus. They were hardworking, discerning, and doctrinally strong. They had persevered through difficulty and refused to tolerate evil.
Yet Jesus told them that they had left their first love.
Their activity for God had not replaced intimacy with God.
That warning is just as important for us today. It is possible to serve Jesus publicly while slowly drifting from Him privately. We can become so occupied with ministry, family, work, responsibilities, and even spiritual activity that we stop sitting at His feet.
Our first love is not simply an emotion we experienced when we first believed. It is the decision to give Jesus first place.
He is not looking only for our work. He wants our hearts.
He is not calling us back to empty religion. He is calling us back into relationship.
Wake Up: Hear the Sound of the Shofar
The central symbol of Elul is the shofar, the ram’s horn used throughout Scripture to announce war, victory, the arrival of the King, and God’s appointed times.
One of the traditional shofar sounds is called Teruah. It consists of nine rapid notes and resembles an alarm clock. Its purpose is to awaken people from spiritual slumber and call them into spiritual clarity, honesty, and preparation.
The shofar is Heaven’s wake-up call.
It asks us to examine our hearts:
- Has fear become louder than faith?
- Has disappointment weakened our expectation?
- Has busyness replaced prayer?
- Has offense or unforgiveness found room in our hearts?
- Have we allowed something else to take the place that belongs to Jesus?
God awakens us because He loves us. He does not want us to sleep through what He is preparing to do.
The alarm is not condemnation. It is mercy.
Return: Come Back to Your First Love
Revelation 2 gives us a simple pattern for returning.
Remember
- Remember what it was like when your heart was tender toward God.
- Remember when you opened the Bible expecting Him to speak.
- Remember when worship was more than music.
- Remember when obedience was your natural response to His love.
Repent
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where your affection, attention, or priorities have changed.
Repentance is not self-punishment. It is agreeing with God and allowing Him to change our direction.
Return
- Begin doing the things that once helped you remain close to Jesus.
- Set aside uninterrupted time for prayer.
- Open His Word slowly and expectantly.
- Worship without rushing.
- Obey what He has already told you to do.
- Forgive the person you have struggled to forgive.
- Return to the simplicity of loving Jesus with your whole heart.
Receive
Receive His forgiveness and mercy.
Do not spend the season looking backward in shame. Jesus paid the price to cleanse, restore, and renew you. Teshuvah leads us home, and our Father receives those who return to Him.
Prepare: Put Jesus Back at the Center
Elul is a season of preparation, but biblical preparation is not panic or fear. It is spiritual alignment.
The shofar sound known as Tekiah is a long, unbroken blast associated with the coronation of the King. It reminds us to crown Jesus as King over every area of our lives.
- Let Him be King over your thoughts.
- Let Him be King over your relationships.
- Let Him be King over your home, finances, plans, habits, and future.
Ancient Jewish wisdom uses the phrase “The King is in the field” to describe Elul. It presents the picture of a king leaving the palace and drawing near to his people so they can approach him.
Isaiah 55:6 expresses a similar invitation: seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near.
God is drawing near. Elul invites us to respond.
Be a Blessing: Let Your Return Change How You Love
Historically, teshuvah is closely connected with tzedakah—acts of righteousness, kindness, generosity, and compassion.
Returning to God should change how we treat people.
We cannot say we are returning to our first love while remaining bitter, selfish, dishonest, or indifferent toward the needs of others. Jesus taught us that loving God and loving people cannot be separated.
Ask the Lord:
- Who needs my forgiveness?
- Who needs encouragement?
- Who is carrying a burden I can help lift?
- Where can I bring hope, healing, dignity, or practical assistance?
As Pastor Larry often teaches, before God brings a new blessing into our lives, He frequently gives us a new opportunity to become a blessing in someone else’s life.
Our works do not purchase salvation. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. But the evidence of a heart returning to God is a life that increasingly reflects His goodness.
Wake Up, Return, Prepare, and Be a Blessing
That is the message of Elul.
- Wake up from spiritual slumber.
- Return to your first love.
- Prepare your heart and crown Jesus as King.
- Be a blessing by allowing His love to flow through you to others.
You have not wandered beyond the reach of God’s mercy.
The road home is open.
The King is near.
Jesus is calling you back to your first love.
A Prayer of Teshuvah
Father, thank You for loving me enough to awaken me. Search my heart and show me anything that has distracted me, hardened me, or pulled me away from You.
I choose to return to my first love, Jesus. Restore my hunger for Your presence, my passion for Your Word, and my desire to obey Your voice.
Forgive me for every place where I have allowed fear, pride, offense, compromise, or busyness to take Your place. I receive Your mercy and cleansing.
Prepare my heart for everything You desire to do in this season. Be King over every area of my life.
Help me not only to return to You, but also to become a blessing to others through kindness, generosity, forgiveness, and love.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
LHM
