What are you passionate about? I’m not talking here of those fantasy things, like my friends and I would have while playing on my homemade baseball diamond: bottom of the ninth in the World Series, bases loaded, and we knock it out of the park! The type of passion I’m talking about here is far deeper, a passionate longing that’s always been there and you just can’t shake it. It’s the kind of thing that haunts you; you want it so much that it keeps you up at night. It’s the dream and vision you’ve whispered prayers about, hoping desperately God would answer with a “yes” or He would miraculously change your life to sync up with your dream.
Perhaps you use to have passion for something, but the daily grind of life has beaten you up and it has all but disappeared. Living life as the masterpiece God created you to be requires that you are keenly aware of the natural passion God has placed within you and that you never let it die. If it’s already dead, it’s time for a resurrection. If it has slowly burned down to an ember, it’s time to fan the flame. Passion will cause you to love what you do and when you love what you do you will be successful.
1. Tap Into Your Passion
You are wired very different than any other person on the planet, that’s what makes you one of God’s masterpieces. (I know there are many things that are similar among humans, but when it comes to your specific life plan – you are unique!) It is important that you tap into your unique passions. It is a necessary quality for your success. It is one of the most noticeable of all qualities. Look at any person that you admire and think you would like to be like and I assure you that they live life with passion. It draws you to them. Why? Because passion is the fuel for vision and vision is a picture of a preferred future.
Jesus was consumed with passion for the Father’s house. It’s clear in John 2 when He see how people are abusing worship in the temple and He makes a whip, turns over their tables and drives them out. (John 2:13-17) As the disciples watched there were reminded of prophecy about Him: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
What passion has God placed within you that consume you? If you do not tap into your God-given passion you will easily be swayed toward worldly passion that will lead you down a path toward living life as a forgery rather than a masterpiece.
2. Remain Committed To Your Passion
There will come a time when you will be tempted to take a shortcut, (a shortcut is the longest distance between two lines) stay committed to the passion God has place within you. Jesus wasn’t just running His passion up the pole to see who would salute it. He was willing to go to the cross with His passion and ultimately the world has radically changed because of His commitment. What is it that you are so committed to that you cannot – will not – be swayed from?
3. Feel The Courage Of Passion
The cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz went on a search for courage. He was a lion, the king of the jungle; he didn’t realize that what he sought after was in his very nature. You will discover that you are full of courage when you tap into your God-given passion. The courage to step out in faith, to stand up for a cause, or to stand firm in conviction, courage will be a natural part of a life lived with passion.
Next Steps:
Prayerfully consider the passion God has placed within you. Are you living it? What steps can you take today to live in it better? Begin making a strategy to tap into and live in your passion.