Passion & Purpose
I read a poster that went something like this, “Don’t worry about what might happen in a month, or what could happen in a year. Focus instead on the next 24 hours, and do what you can to get closer to where you need to be.”
The first thing that came to mind when I read this, was the words of Christ in Matthew 6:34, “Don’t be anxious (don’t worry) about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. There is enough trouble for you to handle for today.” And I’ll add, “So focus on today.”
I must say that the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible gives a very inaccurate spin on this verse, and I have witnessed many ill-informed individuals who were stuck on the wording of this version. Let's take a closer look, and see what we uncover.
KJV Matthew 6:34 “Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Is Jesus really admonishing us to give no consideration or thought to tomorrow? When some people read this verse, they think, "I don’t have to sit down and do that five-year plan or plan out my week. Besides the best way to make God laugh is tell Him your plans. The Bible says, 'blah blah blah'."
Hold your horses. Let’s take a look at the original language of this text. It was written in Greek. That word "thought" in the original language is μεριμνάω, which literally means, "to be anxious or distracted, to be troubled with cares, to seek to promote one’s own interests.”
The problem is not our planning, instead it is when our plans take the place of God’s plans and purpose for us. When this happens, we get in the way of what God has intended for us to do. His intention for us has been created with our best interest in mind.
If Matthew 6:34 really meant, “don’t plan or think about tomorrow,” then we would have a discrepancy. In Proverbs 29:18 it says, “Where there is no vision (plan, purpose, goal, heavenly revelation, insight) the people perish.”
That word vision is khaw-zone’ which comes from the origin of khaw-zaw’ which means “to behold, and perceive in a future tense, with intelligence and inspiration.”
When vision is fused with passion, and hitched to a purpose, something big – good or bad – is going to happen. Hitler had vision. So did Martin Luther King.
What I believe Jesus was trying to tell His audience in Matthew 6:34 was this, “The only way tomorrow is going to be different than today, or last month, or the last ten years of your life is if you get down to business and focus on what you are supposed to be doing right now instead of worrying about what might happen.”
“Well,” you might ask, “what am I supposed to be doing?”
Look at what Jesus says right before this in verse 33. This was the text that literally changed my life, “Seek first - focus on - the kingdom of God and His righteousness (what is right in His eyes) and all these things will be added unto you.”
How do you know what is right in His eyes? To gain His perspective it might be a good idea to start by reading His personal journal. It's our Basic Information Before Leaving Earth (B.I.B.L.E.). If I have learned one thing it is this; everything else will take care of itself when I get the main thing settled in my mind and choose to relentlessly focus on that.
A proper focus on God’s purpose for your life will help you either have renewed passion for what you are currently doing if that is where God has called you, or propel you in a new direction for what you were supposed to be doing all along.
We each have a unique way in which we are to focus on the Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom will come when we know, and then do what He planned and purposed for us. A purpose that He crafted for us while we were in our mother's womb. I promise that when you figure out this purpose, and then do it, it will change your entire life.
It is difficult to accomplish a purpose without fresh and new passion. And the One that makes all things new is standing at the door of your heart knocking and waiting for you to open that door. When you let him in you will realize that your purpose has been hidden in your passions and desires all along. A purpose that God has infused into your soul before you were His, and refined when you became His.
This is why you were created. This purpose becomes the glue in your life that holds everything else together. It becomes the refiners fire that will burn up all other distractions. It becomes the wind in your sails, and a fire in your hot air balloon that will push you beyond the safe shore line, and carry you to new heights into the exciting unknown.