PASSION

Now therefore, GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN of which the LORD spoke in that day…– Joshua 14:12a

Passion is intense desire and active enthusiasm. Colossians 3:23 exhorts that we live passionately: “And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” The wise man said likewise: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Eccl.9:10a). Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us a Portrait of Passion and Compassion. Moved by genuine love for humanity rather than carnal desires for power, fortune or fame, He declared: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (Jh.4:34b). He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38b). By passion and unrelenting focus, He “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb.12:2b). Passion is not just an Idea a person possesses; it is an Idea that possesses a person. God has sent you into this world on assignment – to do something into which you can pour your heart. Will you find that assignment and go for it?

One person with passion is better than multitudes merely interested. Caleb and Joshua envisioned a future that the rest of the men who went to search out the land of Canaan could not see. Whereas the other ten spies concluded that they were “not able”, Caleb declared: “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Num. 13:30-31). Among their generation, only these two men of Fiery Passion lived to witness the reality of a conquered Canaan. Forty-five years later, passion was still hot and burning in the heart of the older Caleb (Jos. 14:6-14). The trouble with many intellectuals is that learning goes to their heads and hardly touches their hearts. The heart is something of a prophet; it is not a traitor. Even when the head is calculating, rationalizing, and saying “No,” when your heart says, “Yes”, go for your Passion!

Visionaries dare to dream; they peer into the future and perceive possibilities in their inner eyes. They summon the courage to overcome fear and the passion to defeat apathy in destiny’s pathway. They not only see and catch visions, they snatch visions with passion! Passion Persuades. Strong Passion will insure Success; for the desire of the end will point out the means. We accomplish things by Directing our Desires, not by ignoring them.  What an immense power you will have in life when you possess Distinct Desires. Your words, tone of voice, dress, and your very motions, change and improve when you begin to Live for a Reason. God sent you here for a purpose: you must pour your heart and life into it. Be passionate about Life. Act from your Passions. Engage in that which enchants you. You will only be remembered in life for your Passions.

Everyone has a Master Passion. We either master the passion or the passion masters us. For the Believer in Christ, the divinely inspired Vision of God in your heart must become your compelling Passion. The vision is yours! No one can fulfil your vision on your behalf. A vision is not just an idea you possess; it must become a passion that possesses you. Paul declared: “Therefore King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly Vision” (Acts 26:19). The Vision had become a Law he must obey and pursue with passion. Vision that is pursued with passion reaches out to the future and draws it unto the present. What is your Life’s Vision? Has it become your Passion? Will you feel fulfilled if at the end of life’s journey that desire remained unreached? Passion is the root of Pursuit – the catalyst of Pursuit – and that is our next Port of Call!