Sacred Passion Misplaced
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Have you ever been to a concert or a sports arena where you could just feel the energy in the room? It’s the kind of spirit that gives you goosebumps, or “goosies” (as my wife calls them). I have always enjoyed the excitement and the passion of people that are keyed up when their favorite band or team is performing. Do you know the feeling I'm talking about?
We were watching a game this weekend and the entire crowd started getting excited and impassioned! They stood to their feet and the building just erupted!! I got the proverbial “goosies”…haha, and joined in with them. I’d never seen such passion and such energy towards a team or anything for that matter before! By the end of the game my voice was worn out, and I was exhausted!
I had a thought on the drive home that I haven’t been able to shake. As I reflected on the awesome game, my team winning, and an exhilarating experience, I wondered, “Am I this passionate about the things that God is passionate about?” Do I get “fired up” for the things that stir the heart of God? Am I passionate for the right things? I think it is human nature to want to be passionate about something. Passion comes from deep within us, yet at times, it can be wasted, or misplaced, on things that in the end, may have very little significance at all. I'm not saying never go to another concert/game again...if you are hearing that, you're missing the point. That passion is powerful, and our need to be passionate about something is deep and it is from God himself! But my question is, at the center of our heart and life, are we most passionate about the things that God is passionate about?
“Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power.”~ Stephen Covey
What are you passionate about? What are the top four or five things in your life that get the majority of your time and energy? Be very honest. If you are like me, there are some priorities that need to be shifted around.
So here’s a thought for this week:
God, if you were to align my heart with Your heart, so that the things in which You are most passionate about would be reflected in my life…what would that look like? How can I invest my time and energy – my passion – into things that have an eternal significance, and less on the things that have temporal significance?
Can you imagine a world, a community, who is as passionate about their favorite football team as they are meeting the needs of love, food, shelter, and friendship of those who are without?
Find someone that is a great support to you, and talk to them about this at some point this week. Ask them to join you on this journey and to keep you accountable, in prayer and encouragement, as you begin really looking at your life.
So I’ll ask you again, “What are you passionate about?”
“When an answer I did not expect comes to a prayer which I believed I truly meant, I shrink back from it; if the burden my Lord asks me to bear be not the burden of my heart’s choice, and I fret inwardly and do not welcome His will, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”