David wrote in Psalms 42.1, “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after You.” We sometimes sing a song entitled, “As the deer” with that verse in it. The song also says, “You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship You.” This beautiful song is a prayer that we need to deeply imbed in our hearts. It goes on to say, “You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You are my friend and you are my brother even though you are a King. I love you more than any other, so much more than anything”.
One of the biggest giants we face in seeking after Him is our priorities. I once heard a man in referring to his business say, “We specialize in everything”. Businesses can’t specialize in everything. Often, those that are the most successful have a pretty narrow offering of products. When you try to do everything you may become a jack of all trades and master of none. If you have a complex electrical problem, you don’t want to call a general handyman who is good at a lot of things, even if electricity is one of them. You want someone who is highly skilled in what it takes to solve your problem. You want someone who has a narrow focus. You want a man who has given priority to learning electrical work. You want someone who has a passion for what he is doing because then he is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to do the job. My wife and I were out of town once and the air conditioning in our car went out. The problem was such that we could not drive the car until something was done. I found a man to work on the air conditioning who was probably a good mechanic. After several hours he finally admitted that he was stumped and couldn’t complete the job. So he brought the car to the point that it was drivable and we went home.
By now, you may think I am chasing rabbits but I’m not. What a person needs to be good at something is focus, priority and passion. Nobody can be good at everything. We will never be good at walking with God without focusing on walking with Him. It cannot be a sometime thing that “just happens” occasionally. It must be deliberate and intentional. It cannot just happen when we have extra time on our hands. Giving our walk with God priority means that we will set aside other things to walk with Him. It means that other things will be postponed until our time with Him is complete. No life is ever so busy that it cannot be rearranged to allow time to meet with God. We make choices that have put us the situations that we are in and we make choices whether or not to continue on the same path.
David’s passion was that he longed to be with God. It was his heart’s desire. Until our hearts are overwhelmed with such a passion, finding time to be with God will be a chore rather than something for which our hearts genuinely long. If you really think you want to have such a passion, read this verse over and over. Listen to the song and sing it until your heart really believes it. Ask others to pray with you that you can have the same passion that David had.
What is your passion? Some have a passion for hunting or football. Some have a passion for shopping or decorating their home. There are people who have a passion for a particular hobby or for making money. Others are workaholics. There are many good things for which one can be passionate but there is nothing for which we should be more passionate then spending time with God. Serving God through the church is a passion for some Christians but even that should not be our top passion. Until we spend time with God, our serving Him will not likely be properly motivated. Passion for service can skip over the passion for being with God that we need to give our lives direction. There are some marvelous Christians who are genuinely loving and caring people. They spend time serving and helping. Their hearts are soft and compassionate. They are people whom you and I love. They have a good humanitarian motive for their service and people truly appreciate what they do. When looking at these people from the outside we cannot discern their motives. We neither condemn nor criticize them because they are good people and they love God.
What may be missing in their lives is neither motivation nor passion. It is the source of their passion. They have made decisions to serve based on their own heart’s desire which may or may not be harmonious with God’s will for their lives. Observe this next point carefully so you do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. The proper source of a Christian’s motivation is absolutely crucial and it does come out of a vacuum. It comes only when we have spent quality time with God in studying His Word and in prayer. When our passion for Him is the overwhelming number one passion in our lives, we will long to be with Him with an incredible intensity. Out of that time with Him will come a motivation that will guide us in serving Him as He directs, not as our good but sometimes misguided hearts may dictate.
If you think that I am saying that proper service to God must come first and foremost out of our quiet time with God, then you understand what I am trying to say. When we have a passion for being with God, out of that passion will come another passion to express our love for Him by living righteous lives and serving Him both in and out of the church.
Father, how I long to know you better. I confess that I have priorities in my life that keep me from being with you as I should. Speak to me how I need to respond and enable me to hear with my mind and heart. Please don’t let me ever substitute service or my “good” lifestyle for the time I need to be alone with You. I need You more than anything and I long to have an intimate relationship with You. Please help me to develop an overwhelming passion for knowing and serving you.
