Are You Passionate?

Psalm 22
"My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief."

This is the psalm that Jesus quoted while on the cross.
It begins with anguish, and ends with rejoicing. It depicts the loneliness and hurt and pain that Jesus was facing. He was abandoned, left alone to die for the sins of the world. But the end reflects the future hope that we have through the work of Jesus: eternal worshiping and rejoicing throughout the whole earth.

This psalm doesn't simply reveal what Jesus was thinking or even feeling. It reveals His passion. 

"His passion was to do the will of His Father, no matter how much it hurt, for the greater glory that would come."

What about you? What is your passion? We hear that word a lot these days. It's one of those buzzwords that seems to lose meaning the more we use it. 

The dictionary defines passion as a "strong and barely controllable emotion." Do you have a "strong and barely controllable emotion" to do the will of your Father? No matter how much it hurts? For the greater glory that will come?

"I will praise you in the great assembly…
All who seek the Lord will praise Him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to Him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before Him."

Lord, thank you for being with me, even when it hurts. Thank you for allowing me to suffer for your glory. Help me to faithfully rejoice in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death. Help me to keep my eyes focused on you in the midst of the storm.