Discover God's Dream For You By Jennie AllenSample

Threads of Passions (Part 1)

It’s easy to miss the point of Joseph’s story. What was God doing through Joseph’s suffering and the betrayal of his family and the unique gifts he possessed? Yes, he was refining Joseph. Yes, he was restoring Joseph to his family. Yes, he was using him throughout Egypt in many people’s lives. But ultimately God intended Joseph’s life to save many lives. With the famine coming, God would use the faith and obedience of one to save them all. Joseph had a unique need he was designed by God to meet.

We all are longing to live for something bigger than ourselves. As believers in Jesus with need all around us, we get to. We look past the normal of mundane jobs and boring places and see the need in them, and passions start to wake up. God built us to take the material around us and invest it into our nearest need. It’s how we’ve been wired: we are most fulfilled when we are meeting needs.

God built us to love different things so we could meet different needs. It’s beautiful that your heart doesn’t beat fast about the same things my heart beats over. When we start to lay out our threads, it is unbelievable to see how what felt average about ourselves starts to take on intricate beauty. Our untangling threads reveal God’s sovereignty and attention to detail. Beautiful is the body of Christ poured out into every crevice of this world, every city, every office, every home. It’s the unselfish passions of people displaying the love of their God in a million unique ways.

It’s beautiful that all your unique threads run in a direction that blesses people and shows God. That direction is usually determined by the things that cause you to beat the table, or lay in bed awake, or speak with exclamation marks.

Our passions determine our direction. We began this journey in hopes of discovering how to invest our lives. I promised no magical writing in the sky-only a journey to discover more of God and the pieces of life he gave you to make him known. Where does your heart bleed for the need you see around you?

Respond:

Where is God calling you to be brave and meet need?

What is holding you back?

Adapted from Restless Bible Study Guide by Jennie Allen