What if the very thing that is holding you back is not your past, not the scars that often cripple, nor the voices of the judgemental, or anything other than the fear of your own passion...?
A few times during the course of my walk with God, He's had to take me aside (so to speak) and talk to me about the passion I hold within. But not in a way many may think... Rather, "Dad's" chats were to help me see that it's ok to have passion, that He made me that way - in His image - and not only is He fine with me using it, He urges me to.
Life wasn't meant to be boring. If it was, why would God have bothered with so much colour, so much 'beauty', a huge planet to explore, or so many emotions in the human soul...? Life was created to be enjoyed, shared, explored and lived. And what better way to experience such things than with the joy born of passion?
Obviously I'm not talking lust here. [And for those who may wonder: I do not deem making love with passion a form of lust...] I'm talking a God-made and given passion that works to help you express the YOU that you are; the drive behind the life you're free to live and the talents you possess.
A writer who writes from the heart is far more appealing to me when they've tapped into the depths of their passion, rather than one who seems to have simply rearranged the order of a dictionary. I'm not saying 'intelligence' is not attractive, but without HEART, without passion, words can simply be just words and often sound like a clanging cymbal.
An artist who paints not what the crowds desire, but what is in his or her heart, who expresses and reflects the passion within is not simply a great artist, but a free one.
A photographer, a musician, a mum, a lover, and so on, are 'fine' when dabbling with their passion, but unleash the fullness of one's passion, of the heart each one possesses and the depths of that heart, and you'll see (or create) works/results that no one else can. Their 'work' (for want of a better word) bringing forth a unique style that catches our eye and heart, and "somehow" inspires us in some way.
I am starting to see that a heart/soul free to be driven by the passion it possesses is a free one indeed... if, that is, that passion is love driven. Lust feeds one's own ego. Love exalts others. Love sets free. Love encourages. Love gives. Lust takes. A passion that takes is not love based, it is vanity based, and anything vanity based is not inspirational in any way, nor freeing as it seeks to feed what tends to become obsession. Love doesn't obsess. Love understands, celebrates uniqueness, individuality, and so on... and when your passion is based on love, it moves to set your soul, and that of others, on fire with excitement, joy, peace, and a deep sense of wanting to break free of chains that bind in order to bless, create and just BE!
Are you free to BE...? To be yourself? To be at peace with yourself despite flaws? To embrace your own uniqueness and celebrate that of others? To express the depths of your soul and passion through your God-given talents? Are you free to be you...?
I know through revelation from the Big Fella that I've avoided the passion I possess, sensing that it was/is way too 'big' for me to handle, and that such beliefs are often, and were, born of the religious traditions passed on from days of old, where 'passion' was cast out into the shadows of lust and never to be looked upon; where passion was judged harshly and deemed ungodly and to be rejected at all costs. But God freed me - and I note that He has just brought me to a new level in this, to a greater understanding, and therefore freeing me even more - of such critical beliefs.
A love driven heart takes the passion it possesses and creates beauty, offers freedom, invites peace, and inspires others wherever it goes. Yet, many of us fear it, believing it is a part of us that is no good, that must be cast out. But it can't be cast out. God created that part of us, and is as part of us as our own soul is. It's a gift. Passion is a gift - from God... and once we accept that part of ourselves, once we cast out the voices that have told us passion is a sin, silenced the voices that lump passion in the same category of lust, then perhaps inner peace, motivation/purpose, and true freedom can be ours.
"Father, many of us have been raised to believe - whether it be through the voice of man-driven religion, critical judgement, tradition or abuse of some sort - that passion is not of You; that it is dirty and to be avoided, and, because of this, we've been left here, frozen in time, afraid to live in case the passion we 'secretly' know we possess bursts forth and takes over... Father, please reach into the every heart that is here right now, open to You, and release them from such lies. Speak to each heart, with the peace, love and encouragement You give so freely and completely, in order to cast out all lies that bind, and release a knowing into each heart that when they dare to accept and tap into their own passion, not only will You be there to help them handle it, but they will actually find great peace, purpose, joy and freedom in it... And thank You, God, for doing this for me, too... I love You. :) "