How to Turn Passion Into PurposeSample

It will always be easier to sit in silence than to speak up for what is right. Why? You and I are not robots or animals. We have free will, and, given our wounded human nature, there are often times we choose to be diverted. It seems clear to me, too, that there are evil forces pushing back against any good endeavor. I also believe there are demonic roadblocks stopping us from standing for what is right and good and loving. Evil exists and Satan’s only intent is to destroy and kill. He hates all creation. He hates all truth. He hates anything that has life and breath. Evil depends on our apathy, our lukewarmness, our attachment to the safe, the familiar, the comfortable. Every day we are up against forces that do not want us to live out our God-given potential. Those forces do not want us to love. Those forces do not want us to create. Those forces do not want us to explore and discover and use the unique talents we have to make a difference in the world. As a voice of inspiration tells us to “just start,” the voice of opposition whispers a thousand reasons to sit and do nothing instead. Love of the comfortable or familiar can end our work before it has even begun. We have to ask ourselves: How badly do I want to change the world? How badly do I want to make a difference? Allowing our hearts to feel the pain of those we seek to help or admiring the heroes who have gone before us can help shake us from our lethargy. And even though it can seem scary at first, the good news is that taking risks is usually easier to do in reality than in our own minds, where we may lose momentum by imagining worst-case scenarios or talking ourselves out of taking a stand for what is right. God gives each of us grace in the present moment, not in the countless future scenarios we may drum up in our imaginations. Be encouraged that leaving your comfort zone can be as simple as making a decision today to break out of your routine, out of doing only what is comfortable, easy, or familiar, and trying something that is more difficult, daring, or unfamiliar in service of others. When we dare to do what is right or good or loving, God can take our imperfect actions and bring good from them.