I’ve heard it many times coming from people sitting on the other side of my desk… “I’ve just lost my passion.” Really, lost your passion, huh? Nope, you haven’t lost your passion. You just redirected it to something else. You have made a choice to either not make use of it or you intentionally let it die so you no longer possess it. Sometimes God redirects our passion for us when he is getting ready to move us to a new level in our relationship with Him. Paul is the prime example of a man who had his passion redirected by God, he listened and went to a new level. I have seen many people being redirected by God only to fight it every step of the way and miss out on what God was asking them to do because they would not change. Pharaoh refused to listen as God was redirecting his passion (yep, 10+ times, God is way more patient than me!)
Passion is a tricky emotion because it is just that, it’s an emotion. You can have the intensity one day and not the next. Passion is a deceiving little bugger, it makes you think you need to have that overmastering, reckless feeling, the one that drives you away from any amount of reason and sense to think you have it, but it's not true. You can have a consistent drive and love for God’s will everyday without the emotional highs and lows associated with the worldly view of passion.
I have had people in my office telling me all the reasons they should quit their job because they lost their passion but then they never quit. God has a way of making us discontent and disconnected with where we are so we will move, but some people just stay and become negative and miserable. If only they would have just listened to God and moved they may not have wasted their talents and made so many other people around them miserable by staying put. You’ve seen it too, the lifer at a company or a church who just does enough to get by, sits in his cube not making a difference, has a negative attitude and management does nothing about it because he has been “loyal” for 20 years. A no win situation. He has not contributed in years and his bad attitude is contagious, in fact it even runs off the contributors because they don’t understand why he is still around.
In my wisdom (not age, mind you J), now when people come to my office and confess all the reasons they should leave their job because they lost their passion, I ask them… “Do you want me to talk you into it or talk you out of it?” I also forewarn them, that if I talk them out of leaving then I will not allow them to have a negative attitude, they are to serve with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind and with all their strength.
So why do we think we lose our passion, could it be because it is not in line with God’s will? As they say in Texas, “might could!” If that is the case do you just wake up one day and your passion has changed? Might could, ask Paul. Or a scarier thought, you have total control over the passion God has placed in your heart and you have the choice to redirect it. Ouch, that means you might actually have to be accountable for your choices.
So how do you get your passion back in line with God's will? Simple, well, simply said, much harder to apply! Matthew 22:37 says it all…“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” Give God your “everything.” (I love blogging while listening to Lincoln Brewster, thanks for the line Lincoln!) God is a jealous God and he wants our “everything.” Once He has it, He can direct our passion. When He is in control of our passion, it will certainly line up with His will (might, could!) and it will be pretty hard to lose. Now, He might redirect it but then at least we know we are still walking in His passion.
Redirect your passion today to the true One and Only and then enjoy the passion He has in store for you! Givin' my all to Jesus! Tam