Devotion

I get a short devotional from Relevant Magazine every morning, and it is incredible to me how so many of them speak to my exact situation at present. This is this morning's, and I am thankful for it:

The Somber Side of Passion

By Winn Collier

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:30-31 TNIV

FRANKLY, I'M TIRED OF the word passion. It's a good word, a zesty word. It hints of a fire in the belly, an eagerness and an excitement that sends shivers up the spine. The problem is that it's lopsided. To be passionate, it would seem, is to tingle with anticipation (always), to possess a rapid-beating heart and a wild-eyed exuberance (always). It's the spiritual life on caffeine.

I wonder if spiritual passion could embrace more subtleties and other seasons that would give us a fuller appreciation for the spiritually awakened soul.

Jesus suggested as much. "When you are at the end of your rope ... When you feel you've lost what is most dear to you ... When you are torn apart with hunger ..."—these are times Jesus says the life of God can take deep root (Matthew 5:1-6). These are times when desire for God, passion if you will, can take on fresh flame.

Jesus was speaking to the weary, the broken, the tired. He did not challenge them to move past their despair, to cheer up with some attempt to view the silver lining in their dark cloud. He encouraged them to embrace their disillusionment, to own their dark place—and find God in it.

What does your spiritual passion look like without the emotional hype or intensity?