God gave you a heart, and he has placed in you passions, desires, and dreams. But unless they are under his control, they will be misused, they will be abused, they will be misapplied, they will be misdirected, and they will be wasted in your life.
All around the world, there are millions of passionate people with interests and dreams and ambitions that are being misused and abused. And it breaks God’s heart. That’s why, in spite of their talent and their passion, those people are unhappy. Because when your passions are misused, it makes you miserable.
Some of you might be thinking, “I’m not really passionate about anything right now.” You know what that means, don’t you? It means you are disconnected from God. You cannot be connected to God and dispassionate. When you are plugged in to God, it’s like plugging in to 220 volts. You get passionate!
God is a passionate God. The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in his image. God is emotional. God gets jealous when he sees you ignoring him for something else. God has loved you with an everlasting love. No matter what you’ve done, he will always love you. That’s passion!
When you spend time with God on a daily basis and you get plugged in, you can’t help but be passionate. You start to develop God’s heart for the world. You start to feel the way he does. Who you hang out with really does make a difference.
I can prove that with any teenager. Put a teenage kid with a group of dispassionate kids who are apathetic about everything, and that kid will become apathetic within a matter of weeks. Why? Who you hang out with makes a difference.
Would you like to have more energy in life? More enthusiasm? More get up and go? Let me tell you where to get it. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words “en theos” — “en” meaning “in” and “theos” meaning “God.” When you get “en theos,” you’re going to be enthusiastic. The closer you get to God, the more energy, vitality, and passion you will have in life. The further away you get, the more bored and apathetic you become with life. You’ve got to open your heart to Jesus.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Look, I’m standing at the door and knocking. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I’ll come in and we’ll eat together” (GW). Jesus Christ has been standing and knocking at the door of your life for a long time. But he’s a gentleman. He’s not going to bust the door down. You’ve got to open it up.
Talk It Over
How do the people you spend time with and the things you spend your time doing make you more or less passionate about God?
What are you passionate about? How can it bring glory to God?
What changes in your schedule might help you prioritize a quiet time with God every day?
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