Stay in Love with God
Take a Moment to Listen
Surprisingly, "Fix You" by Coldplay unexpectedly reflects the pastoral heart of James 5 that we explored in worship this weekend: God meets us in suffering, community bears us up, and hope breaks through again as we do life together. While the song is not a prayer, it gives voice to the ache and longing that often lead us into prayer. May it center your spirit this day.
John Wesley once wrote, “God is the first object of our love,” and James ends his letter with a vision of what that kind of love looks like in daily life. He paints a picture of a community that stays close to God in every season—through prayer, praise, confession, healing, and mutual care. But tucked inside this passage is a surprising reminder: Elijah was “a human being like us.” Not superhuman. Not spiritually elite. Just a person who kept turning toward God with a steady, practiced trust.
Elijah’s story is dramatic—droughts, fire, and rain—but James highlights something quieter: Elijah prayed earnestly. His life was shaped by a rhythm of returning to God again and again. That is exactly what Wesley meant by “attending upon the ordinances of God”—the practices that keep our hearts warm, awake, and aligned with God’s love.
James is not asking us to become Elijah. He is reminding us that Elijah was like us, and that a life rooted in prayer, worship, Scripture, and community can open us to God’s healing power in ordinary days. Staying in love with God is not about intensity; it’s about consistency. It’s about turning toward God in suffering, in joy, in sickness, in wandering—and trusting that God meets us there.
So, as you reflect today, do not measure your faith by intensity or certainty. Simply turn toward God again. Pray the prayer you have on your heart. Trust that the God who met Elijah, and who has held the church through every generation, will meet you too. Stay in love with God—and let that love shape the way you live, pray, and return.
Read: James 5:13 - 20 (NRSV)
Reflection Questions
- Where in your life right now do you feel invited to “turn toward God” rather than handle things alone?
- Which practice—prayer, worship, Scripture, communion, confession, community, or something else—helps you stay in love with God most naturally?
- James points to the prophet Elijah and the power of prayer because he was “a human like us.” (Read 1 Kings 18:30-46). What were some of the characteristics of Elijah’s prayers that James may have admired?
- There will be times when our prayers are not answered. How do you deal with the disappointment and stay in love with God?
Take a Moment to Pray
Holy and loving God,
Turn our hearts to you in every season. Teach us to pray with Elijah’s quiet confidence—not in our own strength, but in your faithfulness. Draw us near through the practices that keep us rooted in your love, and form us into a community that heals, restores, and leads one another home. Keep us in your love today and always.
Amen