If I close my eyes, I can still see myself sitting on the hardwood floor of my childhood bedroom and praying a familiar, weathered prayer: God, use me. If you’re out there, please make it so this life of mine is not an accident.
I wasn’t yet a believer, but I remember praying that same prayer countless times. I recall being so afraid that I would chase the passions deeply woven into me, only to find they meant nothing.
Years later, I can look back and say that those passions within me weren’t accidental. And the roads I walked to share those passions in different ways, even when I didn’t fully know the way? Not accidental, either.
It turns out, the walking part — the daring to move forward when the path before us isn’t always clear — is the key to using our passions to make much of God in all different seasons of life.
As you walk, here are three perspectives that will help you move forward with purpose:
LOOK INWARD
You’ve been wired in a deeply intricate and intimate way. There’s never been a duplicate of you. There’s not a single person in this entire world who thinks the way you do, has the same experiences as you, or has the ability to hone the same gifts in quite the same way as you.
I know it sounds like we could plaster those words on a coffee cup, but the more time you sit with yourself, learning and understanding how God wired you uniquely, the more you uncover the truth in those statements.
I’m not suggesting a personality test or a retreat off the grid. I think knowing ourselves and coming to know the God who made us starts with a simple, but tall order:
The willingness to sit still.
The willingness to get quiet.
The willingness to stop the mindless scroll.
The willingness to clear out some of the noise.
Over the last decade of being a writer and entrepreneur, my best ideas, plans, and unexpected passions never came through the noise, through watching everyone else, but by getting alone with God long enough to say:
Here I am, Lord. I’m ready and expectant for how you use me.
I think that’s where our passions and dreams lie in wait. Much of the reason we feel lost when it comes to using our passions to glorify God is because we aren’t sitting still long enough to do the essential work of prayer, of contemplation, of discovery, of talking with God. The stillness is not a punishment; it’s often a pathway into the creative and spiritual gifts within you, waiting to be tapped.
LOOK UP
One of my favorite directives comes from Psalm 5. Here, the psalmist writes:
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalm 5:3
The psalmist meets God in the morning, and he lays out the pieces of his life in front of him. Imagine a morning ritual where you do the same: you come to God in stillness, you lay out your passions and your dreams, your appointments and your plans for the day, your fears and your hopes.
The psalmist doesn’t just wait for an outcome to the offering; the Scripture says he waits expectantly—expecting God to show up and show off.
If you’re in a space of struggling to figure out how to channel your passions in a way that will glorify God, here is a good first step: clear space to meet with him in the morning. Lay it all out before him, like cards spread on the table. Wait expectantly for what God wants to do and how God wants to answer.
The answers likely won’t be instant or overnight, but over time, you will start to see the answers illuminated in daily life: a job you could apply for, a conversation that sparks a good idea, a piece of Scripture that illuminates the next step forward.
When you extend all your passions back to God and choose to partner with him in the process, greater things will come to pass than if you tried to walk this road on your own, opening your own doors, and forcing your own way.
This rhythm is a familiar one in my daily life. In my morning time with God, I will often ask God: What do you want me to do? I wait. And I often get a nudge towards the next step:
A piece of writing to explore.
A new idea.
A task that will make my home more peaceful.
A way to connect with my husband or daughter.
All of these things are passions in my life, and I lay them out before God as an offering. I wait expectantly. And then, as he answers, I move with obedience.
LOOK AROUND
I spent years of my twenties waiting for big ideas that would glorify God. I imagined they would strike me in the middle of the night or magically appear after enough worrying about the future.
I think a lot of us fall into this trap: believing that what we are called to do by God is waiting for us elsewhere. That we have to hunt, or journey, or leave to find the place where our passions and God’s glory will merge.
In reality, we are called to God. First and foremost. From that calling, we get other callings:
We are called to walk humbly.
We are called to the people in our neighborhood and friend groups.
We are called to the local church body.
We are called to the nitty-gritty life in front of us.
Stepping into those seemingly ordinary, daily callings often uncovers the bigger, wilder purposes of God.
Just look at the way Jesus moved in daily life. He wasn’t focused on gathering crowds or garnering applause. He lived in rhythm with the Spirit of God. He saw infirmities on the roadside. He paid attention to the hurting. He lived wide awake to the needs right in front of him.
Living a life of passion and purpose hinges on choosing to stay awake and present to what is right in front of us.
In the living wide awake we uncover new passions:
That book idea.
That song melody.
That lonely stranger.
That grieving friend.
That love for service or music.
That nudge in your spirit to start something new.
Your passions won’t just be one thing. And they won’t only manifest in a dream job or a church role. God’s plans for you are adventurous and multifaceted, more so than you can even imagine right now.
There will be different seasons.
Different gifts.
Different plans.
Different opportunities.
The passions you carry in your twenties may look entirely different from those you’ll pursue in your thirties or forties. With God, we are growing all the time. And that’s part of the beauty of life– our passions will change and evolve, too.
In our everyday, walking-around lives, this is how you begin to live out your passions to glorify God:
Look in.
Look up.
Look around.
I promise, something is waiting for you there.
