Keep Passion Alive!


Last night, I watched part of a show on tv where David Foster was playing music with some of his friends. It was SO compelling. And the talent? Forget about it! It was off the hook!! But what I found interesting about the whole encounter was what began to happen to me as I listened and watched. I was flooded with this wave of emotion emitting from the music. It was something that really took my breath away. There was a sweetness and a tenderness to the songs they played. When I paid particular attention to David Foster's playing, I could feel the emotion with which he played, be it ever so simple. And the brilliant collaboration of the instruments all together, the strings, brass, percussion, bass, guitar, piano, and vocals came across as two elements becoming one. The instruments alone made up one element and the vocals made the other. But when they sounded together, it was a little touch of heaven.

I was enthralled

But then I began to notice something else. I was taken back to the way I used to listen to music. I remember how it would take me to different levels of emotion and how it would "sing" my heart. I remember listening to David Foster's project that I believed was entitled "The Symphony Sessions" where I was taken away in my heart while listening to "Winter Games." Wow. And then the "Water Fountain Theme from the movie Secret of My Success." These two songs so impacted me that my wife Brenda, and I, had them played at our wedding. They carry such emotion.

But what got me was remembering my deep, deep passion and emotional connection to music and the me now that has seemed to have forgotten it a bit. Remembering that passion sometimes gets lost in the necessities of life and work. And when your vocation is in the area of your passion, oftentimes it ceases to be a passion and becomes a job. This is not because it's toilsome at all, but now it's being done out of necessity instead of pure joy. In the 15-20 minutes I listened, all the emotion and passion that I used to feel and experience came rushing back into my mind and heart and I've gotten hungry for it again.

This translates directly to our walk with God. Sometimes walking with the Lord and living and dealing with life can be in conflict. You begin to have to fight to keep things in the correct perspective. I mean, think back with me, won't you? When you first came to know God, what was it like? How excited were you? How passionate were you? What was it like for you to believe in Him and watch as He'd answer your prayers? Do you still have that passionate fire burning on the inside? If not, why not? Could it be that the very thing Jesus spoke about in Luke 8:8, 11-15, and in particular, verse 14? "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity."

Now, please note that my focus is on the renewal of passion because of it being choked out in our lives. What is it that has choked out your passion? What is it that robs you of a passionate relationship with God? Can you identify it? I know that for me, I'm attempting to rekindle the fire that burned within my heart for the love of music, but more importantly, I'm striving to KEEP my relationship with God alive, passionate, and breath-taking. That's what He feels for me. I want to always feel that for Him as well.

Join me, won't you?

Greg

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