3. Passionate…
Hannah got up and went to pray… She was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you.
1 Samuel 1:9-11
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
God saw Hannah’s passion to have a child, and he was moved to grant her the desire of her heart and she became pregnant. Hannah believed with all her heart that she was meant to be a mother, and it brought her to the temple in tears year after year as she bore the taunts of her husband’s other wife. God heard Hannah’s passion and granted her not just one child but several. The child God gave to Hannah after her passionate pleas was Samuel – the man who would serve God as his prophet through the reign of Saul and then David.
Passion – not the Spanish, carmenesque type of carnal passion but a spirit-filled passion that chases after God – is the driver, the underlying motivation that leads us to earnestly seek God for an answer. Passion is stirred up by our circumstances; our environment; the Holy Spirit moving within us; the gifts he has given us; our love for him.
Passion is the fire that burns within spurring us to chase the dream leading to fulfilling our purpose in God.
Let’s take a look at Saul, aka Paul, who was a very passionate man – passionate about destroying Christianity, murdering Christians. He was present at Stephen’s stoning (Acts 7) and it seemed already had some standing with the Jewish leaders (verse 58).
But God took that passion and, on the road to Damascus, turned it around (Acts 9) so that Paul became one of the most influential Christians in Israel and beyond even as far as Rome. He passionately preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the area and established many churches. As he fulfilled his purpose, given to him on the road to Damascus, he was persecuted, imprisoned, threatened with death, and so much more. But he knew ands lived that purpose until his dying day.
God has planted passion in every human being – it is in our DNA. That passion is what drives a person like Hitler to murder millions of Jews or Mother Teresa to establish a ministry serving terminally ill people in India. And, as I look back over my life, I see how that passion has driven me. The passion he planted in me was one for disadvantaged children and education. It is what drives me to write this journal entry. It is what drove me to teach English to children and train Bible College students in India and to serve God at Scripture Union for 12 years as their children’s ministry worker. It led me to 9 years of serving God as a regional manager for a children’s charity supporting disadvantaged children to achieve a good education.
Passion is a driver – there is no doubt about that. So, what makes you passionate, what drives you? Only you and God can know that but be assured he has planted passion in your heart, and it only takes a spark to ignite it. If you don’t know the passions that God has placed in your heart, then pray this prayer…
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the passions you have placed in my heart and for the plans you have to ignite those passions to serve you. Help me to discover these passions and your plans for my future.
Amen
Action: Look back over your life – what has made you passionate? What are your drivers? Then spend time praying with God for revelation of how those passions can play out in your service to him.
Journal your thoughts:
