We’ve all been there, and depending on how long you’ve been working with people, you’ve more than likely seen someone else there too. What was once a fired up, passionate, destiny-driven person, has gotten off course. Things that used to spark that twinkle in their eye and send a surge of life through their veins, are now seemingly mundane. Ho-hum habits playing out mindlessly on repeat. What happened? Where did the life go?
Upon inquiring, often you’ll hear, “I’m just not into it anymore.” or “I don’t feel the same way now as I did then.”
But that answer can’t satisfy. When someone was once passionate and fired up for something that God placed in their heart and now that passion is gone, more often than not, there’s more to the story. In order to help people pursue their passion, the actual reason for them drifting needs to be uncovered.
Job 15:12 (NLT)
What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision…?
Think about your own life. Things that you once jumped out of bed in the morning for, things you couldn’t get your mind off, they excited you… those things didn’t suddenly become boring. Something happened along the way. The going got tough.
Perhaps the work connected to the passion came into play and it was more than you could handle. Maybe it was too difficult for you to do alone and you had no one coaching you along, or perhaps you ran out of resources required to do it successfully. Maybe failure after failure left you feeling like you shouldn’t be pursing that dream after all. Sometimes simply the amount of time invested can become overwhelming and can steer you off course. Seasons of life change – marriage, kids, jobs – and what was once a passion now seems to be a distant memory as you focus on thriving in the season of life you find yourself in.
Whatever the reason, somewhere buried deep inside, under the mess of everyday life, the failures that are piling up, the despair at the lack of help or resources… somewhere is a passion waiting to spring back to life.
A wise woman once told my mom, “Never question in darkness what God revealed to you in the light.“
When the light of dreams has been buried so deep that they are completely engulfed in darkness, people often aren’t thinking straight. How can they when all they see is darkness? As they grope their way along, confused and disillusioned at how things have played out, they don’t merely need a hand to hold. They don’t need someone to agree with their clouded thinking. They need a light!
Proverbs 29:18a (ESV)
Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint.
The light of vision can spark the flame of passion once again. You can be a prophetic voice to them in their darkness. Remind them what God spoke to them in the first place. Let them hear the very words they spoke when they were passionately declaring the purpose for pursing their vision. Encourage them in the truth of who God is. God never changes! Speak life to their soul and purpose to do so tirelessly until they break free from the darkness and have been rejuvenated with vision once again.
When the going gets tough, let’s shine bright!
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