Something Worth Fighting For

From a time when I was little I have had a passion for encouraging and befriending women of faith. It just feels like a natural ability-it just flows from me. I heard someone say once that whatever your biggest complaint or whatever takes up most of your thoughts is usually the passion/mission God has given you to work toward. For me encouraging women of faith and hearing their stories is what I love. Older women have such fascinating stories filled with victories and turning defeats over to God for victory. They have so much to teach those younger than them.  I love to hear what God has taught them and encourage them by letting them know I admire them. 

 

When I was in New Zealand on a mission trip, I had some of my fellow classmates say to me something was wrong with me for having this intense heart which wants to befriend people older than me.  Similarly, a friend back home said something is not normal with a young adult wanting to spend time with older people. Discouraging words-yes- defeating words, no. I have found such blessings in making friends with older women of faith that no amount of words could discourage me, because this passion/ heart is not from my own love, but God’s love flowing out of me.

 

Your personal passion/mission can often look strange to outsiders. Sometimes you do not fit the mold that people think is “normal.” There is no normal just the expected norm most people tend to follow. Marching to your own drum is definitely not easy. 

 

I think of Moses. When his mom sent him down the river in a basket she never knew he would become a grandson and eventually brother of the pharaoh or better yet lead the Israelites into freedom. Moses had insecurities as mentioned in Exodus 4:10, but he did not,  rather could not, let that stop him from doing what God had asked of him. Even more Moses did not let pharaoh’s discouragement or pharaoh’s magicians’ mockery keep him from doing what God asked of him. Great history makers do not jump on the newest and greatest bandwagon. They stick to the principles and swim upstream. You do not just accept things because everyone else seems to do so.

 

A key is to not let this passion/mission overrule you. By that I mean each passion/mission has a time and place. There was a time I so badly wanted to befriend a particular godly woman in my church, but I sensed God saying to me the verse Galatians 4:17. The verse states, “They are enthusiastic about you, but not for any good. Instead, they want to isolate you so you will be enthusiastic about them (HCSB)” or as the New International Version calls the enthusiastic have rotten motives. In my case I had let my passion/mission become a source of pride. My motives were not just to encourage and listen as it once was, but to be loved and feel important to the person. I am not saying any of these people are rotten or I am rotten, but sometimes our motives can be rotten. When we use our gift/passion/mission to replace God it can become a source of pride.

 

Just today I felt a sense of this pride rising up in me as I talked to an older godly friend. I was looking to her to make me feel unique and important when really the only one who can ever fill and overfill that need in us is God. There is nothing wrong with what I wanted, but I was looking to the wrong place to fill that want, desire/need. Still it is hard to not be accepted in the world. Sometimes the world may decide to think of you as normal, but often the world will perverse your passion/mission into something never meant to be. A God given passion/mission is hard to really explain, because it comes from deep within you as something you cannot help but do. You do not do it for the applause or acknowledgement. Instead, as Colossians 3:23-24 declares, “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” Praise and acknowledgment for hard work is nice, but the service to others is out of obedience to God. If no one was watching or ever acknowledged you or your work would you still be faithful to work out your passion/mission?  I still struggle with this and I am afraid it will be a battle that will continually creep up on me. Today I want to encourage you to keep going. You've got this. If God gives you a passion/mission it is definitely worth fighting for.