Day 348: What is Your Passion

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you

Proverbs 16:3
Commit you work to the Lord , and your plans will be established. 

One of the biggest misconceptions in Christianity is that when we accept Christ into our lives we  completely give up who we are, our personalities, our passions our dreams, in order to serve God. We think we have to turn into these bible reading, church going, scripture memorizing robots, but we don’t. Instead we surrender, we surrender our lives to Him and we give up a life that we thought was good and accept a life that is great because of Him. I’d like to point out that God have us those gifts and dreams and the personalities. He made us who we are for a reason. We can’t just neglect that. 

Today I want to talk about how we are often very passionate about something but instead of going for it we hesitate because we want to make sure that it’s right for us. Overlooking the fact that God created us for this specific purpose, whatever it may be for you. 

We all have something that we love so much, a gift that we cannot help but use. We have that one thing that we want to do. The one thing we know we were made for. Why do we hesitate when it comes to going after it? God gave us the gifts we have. He put those desires and passions in our hearts. We aren’t all going to be pastors and worship leaders. Instead we are supposed to use the gifts we have been given to expand His kingdom. We are to do what we were put on this earth to do. Whatever it may be. If everyone was meant to lead a church no one would have a church to grow or go to. We are the church the church is in us, we have to stop looking at it as a building. If everyone was me at to be pastors who would we have to use the gift of science and medicine to heal and protect us. Who would govern our countries and nations? If we all tried to do the same thing life would be pretty boring and we would all go crazy. 

The question I want to ask you today is, what are you passionate about? What is the one thing you know you were made for.  It’s not usually something we have to find because it’s already in us. We are born with it. So what is it? What is the one thing you cannot live without doing? The thing that you don’t always want to do but you need to do, because you know that if you don’t do it you are wasting not only the gift God has given you but you are wasting your life by trying to do something else. 

When we submit ourselves to Christ we do not lose who we are in fact, it is the opposite, we find ourselves. We are more secure with who we are. We become less hesitant and more sure. Don’t let people scare you with their religion and rules. If you have a solid relationship with God and you know that your life lines up with Him completely and you are obeying His commands you are good. You are a gift and you have a gift. Use it. Too many Christians are stagnate because they think following their dreams is a sin. Sometimes it can be a sin not to follow our dreams. Many times God Himself has given us the desires and the dreams we have because He knows where He wants us and the path that He has for us. God Himself can be telling us to take the path that leads us to our dreams but we are sometimes too concerned with thinking that because we aren’t doing it the religious way or because we aren’t doing it in a church we are sinning. God can use you wherever  and whenever. He will use what He’s given you for His glory. Don’t underestimate how God can work and where He can work. 

Reflection:

What are you passionate about? 

What is the one thing you know you were made to do. 

What is stopping you from following your dreams?

Prayer Time:

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Have a conversation with God about you dreams and passions. Make sure that everything you are, everything you want lines up with who He is. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing Day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 349!

Day 338: Show Up!

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Contrary to the popular belief, acting is hard. There’s so much work that goes into it, more than just reading a script and saying lines, anybody can do that. But a real actor makes you believe the lines, makes you feel what they are talking about, connecting with the audience and the other characters. We put all the work in behind the scenes so the performance you see looks real and effortless. With that being said, one of the best things my teacher has said to me was, ‘half the job of an actor is to just show up, and then you keep showing up.’ Meaning, we have to be there of we want to work we have to show up to rehearsal, ad before that we have to show up to the audition if we want the job. There are two points I want to make today. One being that if we want anything from God we have to make the effort to show up. The second being if we want anything out of life, we have to make the effort to show up.

Matthew 7:7 is a scripture that I have been hearing all my life. I have heard people talk about it in sermons, conversations, and bible studies. What I grew to understand about the scripture is that if we want something we have to ask. If we want the door to open we have to knock on it. If we want to find something we have to look for it. The scriptures are more literal sometimes than we think. A lot of times we think we are entitled to receive extra things from God so we do not ask. God has given us so much already that if He never does anything else He has done enough. We get to a point when we want the presence of God in our lives but we stop seeking His face. Or we want a door to open in our lives and we’re not knocking because we expect God to do exactly what we want when we want it. God will open doors in our lives but sometimes He wants to see that we have enough faith to knock, that we are willing to take a step, and sometimes that step is knocking on a door. This scripture is a testament that we give what we get, and in order to get something we have to give. We have to take the first step. God is already there waiting for us to show us, it’s us who keep Him waiting. We must make the decision to take the first step toward Him and see where it takes us.  

With that being said, we as humans sometimes forget that life is full of opportunities but only if we choose to take them. Our generation has been called entitled on many occasions, they say we think the world owes us something. While I disagree with that notion, I do believe that we must understand that things aren’t going to come knocking on our doors. God has blessed each and every one of us with a purpose and sometimes we use being called by God as an excuse as to why we can’t get up and do something. We sometimes use God’s calling on our lives as an excuse to do nothing or an excuse not to put any effort into our lives but expect so much out of it. What I’m saying is that God will open a door but He’s not going to walk through it for us. God took the first step by carving out a path for us we have to choose to walk it. As  performer one thing I know for a fact is that if I do not go the audition I will not get the part. If we do not first take a step we will never get to where we are going. If we do not at least knock on the door it will not be opened. If we never ask the question we’ll always sit wondering what the answer was.

All this to say, just show up. Make an effort to do something and not hide away. Show up in your relationship with God, take a step of faith towards Him and watch what He does. Show up for life, whatever you want, whatever God has called you to do or be, show up. It’s scary but it’s so worth it, because God is already there. He’s just waiting on us to show up, sometimes that’s all we have to do. We can’t flake on God, if we do, not only are flaking on Him but we’re flaking on ourselves.

Make the effort, just show up! Dare to make an effort.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to think about and pray about what we discussed today. Ask yourself if you are showing up in life, in your relationship with God. Take the time to talk to God about whatever you discovered today and whatever is on your heart.

I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 339!

Day 193: Play Your Cards

Matthew 25:14-30

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

I’ve grown up being told to play the cards I was dealt, meaning work with what you have and if you want more work for it. This passage is always referred to by pastors and mentors but not in the way that I came to understand it myself. When we had pretty much nothing my mom would always say, “If you’re faithful over a few things, God will make you ruler over many.” There’s a couple quick points  want to make today, so here we go.

The first point, Life isn’t fair so work with what you have to make yourself better. I am a no excuses type of person, and I truly believe that sometimes life doesn’t pan out the way we want and that’s okay. As in the passage the master gave each of them different amounts, and my first instinct was to say, that’s not fair, the one with one can never do what the one with five can. It’s not fair, and it’s not. But get over it, we’re not always going to be treated fairly or get the upper hand. Once we can get past the fact that life isn’t fair we can move on to doing whatever we need to do to succeed. Even when the odds are against us. To put it into layman's terms, we’re dealing with the rich and the “poor”. Some were born with millions of dollars in a trust fund, and some of us grew up struggling to make ends meet, and many of us grew up somewhere in between. That means some of us will have to work a bit harder than our neighbors, we will have to fight for opportunities that others are given, but let’s not use that as an excuse to be lazy and do nothing. We all have the same opportunities, some are just harder to reach for many of us. We have to learn to work with what we have and not feel bad for ourselves for what we don’t have. Just like the servant with five bags of silver went straight to the investment people and invested what he had the get more, the servant with two went to work in order to get more, but the servant with one decided to do nothing and came up with nothing. It’s our choice we have to choose to want more and then go get it.

The second point being, don’t let fear stop you from doing whatever it is you need and want to do. We’re often afraid of what the outcome will or will not be, therefore we don’t even try. No, we cannot do that.  We have to use what we have to get what we want and for some of us that is scary concept because we give everything we have into one thing and we don’t really know what the outcome will be. But I want you to know this, that God will always make a way. If you are in His will and you know that you are following the path He has laid out for you, everything will work together. There’s no room for fear and insecurity. God has you where you are for a reason, He knows the plan He has for you. Don’t write yourself off and sell yourself short because you don’t have the same cards as someone else. Play the cards you have and if the cards you’re dealt don’t add up, you bluff. Keep that poker face.

Reflection

1. Take the time to evaluate where you are in your life and where you want to be. Not  considering your situation or the cards you were dealt.
2. If there were no limits to what you can do, what would you do?
3. Now, there are no limits, only obstacles. Do it!
4. Get over the fact that life isn’t fair, we know that. Fight to use what you’ve been given to get where you want to go.

Prayer Time

Have a conversation with God about what we talked about today. Thank Him or the life that He has given you, and trust in where He is taking you.