BLAZE UP WITH PASSION
To blaze up with passion is to burn with intense zeal for your dream or vision. It is to live with passion, adhere well to principles, and display courage in the face of any situation associated with your vision and aspiration. Your passion keeps your heart noble for the task ahead of you. Therefore, your passion must be sustained, increased and be kept alive to ensure that quitting is not an option.
Reference: Hebrews 12:1-2 The Message (MSG) 'Do you see what this means- all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running- and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.'
When you are enthusiastic about something, it means that passion is factored into the equation. While characteristics such as strong values, talent, aspiration, discipline and persistence contribute to success, following your passion can often make the biggest difference of all. This is because passion sustains vision in the long run.
The Bible said that Jesus never lost sight of where He was headed. That's what passion can do for you. Hebrews 12:2 (MSG) says, 'Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed- that exhilarating finish in and with God- he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
Jesus was able to put up with any challenge along the way: the cross, the shame and the humiliation because of His passion. Passion keeps you focused and effective. That's why the enemy tries hard to kill your passion. You need passion to persevere in any field of life because passion is spiritual energy. It fuels the determination for your accomplishments. Hebrews 10:36 says, 'You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.'
You can't walk in the will of God without a passion for Him and His Word. If you want to be successful in anything, especially in the things of God, you need to increase your passion for God. Passion shoots adrenaline into your soul. Its not enough to have a desire or an expectation, if there's no passion for the desire, it could remain a wish. While success is defined as an achievement of a desired aim or purpose, to make it through the achievement process, passion is needed.
Jesus told the end-age church in Revelation 3:15 (CSB): 'I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.' In other words, 'lukewarm' faith is as a result of lack of passion and it carries dire consequences. This shows that nothing escapes Jesus' attention. He knows when we have passion for Him because He told the Laodicean church in this verse that He knew its condition. That simply suggests that anyone can get involved in any task or activity with an indifferent mindset, and such task will be rewardless due to lack of passion.
Apart from being passionate about your dream and career, ask God to increase your passion in the matters of His Kingdom. That way, you get deeply involved in God and committed to your faith walk.
Scripture Reading - Luke 9:62; Philippians 3:8-14; Luke 10:42; Philippians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 9:23-27.
Guided Prayer:
Dear Father, I'm grateful that you created me for a purpose and I acknowledge that I can't live out your purpose on earth without passion. Therefore, I engage the Holy Spirit daily, for increased and renewed passion in order to fuel the engine of my purpose in Christ. As I find amazing treasures in the pages of your Word, they empower me to burn with the passion to serve you and do your will, in Jesus' Name. Amen!
