Reignite

Hello friends!

So, I've been struggling a bit with the format of this blog, when it dawned on me that the format doesn't really matter. As long as I use this blog to serve God, that's what truly matters. So, going forward, there won't always be book/movie recommendations or recipes. I will certainly include them (or make a separate post for them) when I have one to share, but that is not, and has never been the main focus of this blog. 

With that out of the way...on with today's topic!
 

Sometimes God speaks to you, and you blink your eyes as though you've been asleep.

When you're in church and God speaks to you and you realize that all the passion that should be lit up inside of you sometimes dims to just the tiniest ember, and there are days, weeks, even months, when you aren't even sure how to ignite it again.

And you wonder "What happened to me?"

And this time, when God speaks, you listen, because you recognize that He's right. As He always is. You've let other things take your focus away from Him, and His purpose in your life. You let the little day-to-day annoyances detract from your passion until you're not even sure you can stir it up again.

That happened to me this week.

God showed me how I had been focusing on so many other things that I'd let them consume me until the thought of being wholly consumed by God is a distant memory. A very distant memory. And I realized that I don't want to be like that. There will always be things to do. We can't ignore the everyday things, or the important tasks on our to-do list. But what I realized this week is that we have to organize our priorities so that God comes first. And the only way we can prioritize God first is by reigniting the passion we had when He first awoke us from darkness.

Remember how desperate you felt for His presence?

How you wanted to serve Him every moment? Remember the dreams He awoke in you? Remember the passion of being in His presence and how you thought "I could do only this for the rest of my life."?

Sometimes I would wonder what happened to that feeling. Did God take it away? Of course not. Did it walk away? No. Maybe you lost it. Did I leave it at church? Maybe, and if so, stop doing that!

Okay. I'll get serious again. This week, God has really been convicting me about the time I spend with Him, and the way I spend time with Him. He's been dealing with me about how hurried my prayers can be. And it all relates back to passion. When I'm not passionate about being in God's presence, even when I want to spend time with Him, it can often mean that I'm rushing through my prayers, or even drifting off mid-conversation to think about things on my to-do list.

So, how do we reignite the passion?

Well, I don't think there is one answer that will fit everybody. For me, the ember sparked because of a worship song and a human drama video, respectively. But that's my thing. Some songs just speak to me. I'll link them both at the bottom so you can listen just in case it sparks your passion.

But if music isn't your thing, if human drama videos don't touch you, then I recommend just taking a few extra moments to spend in God's presence today. Do that even if you enjoy these videos. You can even do it on your lunch break. Just close your eyes, focus on God, and remember that dream He put in your heart so long ago, remember how it felt to be consumed by Him when He first called you out of the darkness, and pray for Him to reignite your passion for Him and for His calling in your life.

Mark 12:30 - And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Romans 12:10-13 - Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Philippians 3:14-16 - I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.