God put inside every person the potential to be passionate. One person with passion makes a greater impact than the passive force of ninety-nine who have only interest. Too many people have “only interest” in their destiny. The book of Ecclesiastes says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (9:10). The atmosphere of your life changes dramatically when you add enthusiasm.
Everyone loves something. We’re shaped and motivated by what we love. Ignore what you are passionate about and you ignore one of the greatest potentials God has put inside you. What gets your heart racing? What are you hungry to learn and know more about? What do you daydream about doing? What captures your heart and your attention?
My friend Neil Eskelin shares the following story from his outstanding book Yes Yes Living in a No No World:
I was attending an awards banquet of the Chase National Life Insurance Company. The speaker was the famed author of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill.
When Hill was introduced it was obvious his age had caught up with him. We all wondered if the octogenarian would be physically able to give the speech. (He passed away not long after this event.)
Napoleon Hill slowly walked to the podium, placed both of his hands on the sides of it, looked out at the audience and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have given this speech hundreds and hundreds of times in my life. But tonight I am going to deliver it the best it has ever been given. This is going to be the best speech of my life!”
Wow! It was like a bolt of lightning. I watched 300 adults move to the edge of their chairs and absorb every word like a sponge.
Enthusiasm always makes others stand up and take notice. Nothing significant was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Jesus was a passionate man. He died for us because He loved His Father and us passionately.
Most winners are just ex-losers who got passionate. The worst bankruptcy in the world is the person who has lost his enthusiasm. When you add passion and emotion to belief, it becomes a conviction. There’s a big difference between a belief and a conviction. Belief agrees with the facts. Conviction brings persistent action to your belief.
Driven by passionate conviction, you can do anything you want with your life—except give up on something you care about. Mike Murdock says, “What generates passion and zeal in you is a clue to revealing your destiny. What you love is a clue to something you contain.”
Fulfilling God’s plan is a passionate idea or it is nothing. There’s a reason we’re told to “serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 10:12). Henri Frederic Ameil reminds us, “Without passion man is a mere latent force and a possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark.”
You must first be a believer, then an achiever. “There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a very few that catch my heart . . . it is those I consider to pursue” (Tim Redmond).
Let the passion within you rise to meet your destiny.