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Lost Passion
Regaining Your Lost Passion
by Inspiration
Ministries
Hello dear friend.
This month I want to share about living a life
that passionately seeks God.
Who do you know who lives like that?
Who do you look up to, respect, and admire
because of their wholehearted devotion to the Lord?
While the media exploits spoiled athletes,
hedonistic entertainers, and power-hungry politicians, where are the humble,
honorable folks willing to jump with both feet into the full life God intends
for them?
Our society typically honors those whose lives
are centered on themselves…who feed their egos with the self-induced mantra of
“I’m worth it!”
For them, the end justifies the means,
regardless of who gets hurt in the process.
As a result of the steady diet the media puts in
front of us, we tend to develop a hunger for “hero worship.”
Although we long to live full, bountiful lives,
we too often lack the courage to step into that life.
Instead, we live vicariously through those in
magazines, on Facebook, or on the TV screen, all the while thinking how great
their lives must be.
Then all too often, we discover that our
celebrities have failed and fallen in some way, and we become disillusioned
with their lifestyle.
We finally turn to Scripture for perspective,
but even there we find no perfect heroes but One.
No More Secondhand
Living
As author Eugene Peterson points out in Run with the Horses:
“David committed adultery; Peter
blasphemed…We find that Scripture is sparing in the information that it gives
on people, while it is lavish in what it tells us about God. It refuses to feed
our lust for hero worship. It will not pander to our adolescent desire to join
a fan club. The reason is, I think, clear enough, fan clubs encourage
secondhand living…we find diversion from our own humdrum existence by riding on
the coattails of someone exotic.”
You see, our Father God is a creative genius. He
never duplicates His creation.
You are an original, uniquely designed and positioned to fulfill
His purposes in your life.
There is no secondhand living in the Lord’s plan
for you. There is no lack of new beginnings.
God’s desire is for you to live your life
upward, toward Him, fully aware and fully alive. You don’t need to settle for a
small, trivial life.
Instead, set your sights on discovering what the
Lord has perfectly designed and created you to do!
This kind of life requires courage and
risk-taking, as Peterson explains:
“Are you going to live cautiously or
courageously? [God] called you to live at your best, to pursue righteousness,
to sustain a drive toward excellence…It is easier to relax in the embracing
arms of The Average. Easier, but not better. Easier, but not more significant.
Easier, but not more fulfilling. [He] called you to a life of purpose far
beyond what you think yourself capable of living and promised you adequate
strength to fulfill your destiny.”
Radical Faith
You may say, “Well,
Barbara, that sounds great for someone young and energetic with lots of
opportunities, but that’s not me. I’m beyond that in my life.”
Please
don’t feel that way, dear friend! Wherever you are in life, God will give you
the ability to follow Him into the wonderful destiny He’s planned for you.
But
in order to begin that exciting journey, you need a life of radical faith in God.
Yes, radical faith!
I encourage you to spend some time with your Father, just
talking to Him about this. Get a piece of paper and write, “Lord, how can I live a life of radical faith?”
Then
wait and listen. Write down what you hear Him saying to you.
He’s
been waiting for you to come to Him with this question, and He’s absolutely
delighted to give you the answers.
God told Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and
before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the
nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
I
love this. It’s so great to know we were known by God and appointed to a
destiny before we were even born!
Being Your Authentic Self
Armed with this fresh dose of radical faith and courage,
you will find your passion rekindled for the Lord and His purposes. No more
humdrum living!
In
her book, Free to Be You, Sylvia Gunter writes:
“Your Beloved longs for you to live out of the spirit and
heart that He gave you to be a reflection of Him. He desires that you celebrate
the uniqueness of who He created you to be. Then you will express your radiant,
authentic self in your world.”
Be
blessed, dear one, to receive all the Father has for you. Then, in turn, give
back to others who are still in need of a fresh touch from Him.
Your
excitement for living will return when you passionately pursue God and risk
living in radical faith!
Your
friend on the journey,
Barbara Cerullo is devoted to authentically sharing God’s love with
women. She authors From Barbara’s Heart, where her spiritual insights, heartwarming family
stories, and delightful anecdotes encourage readers with God’s faithfulness.
Her husband, David, is CEO of Inspiration Ministries.
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