Recently, during one of my morning devotionals, I was reading about a missionary who said, "Here let me burn out for God." They weren't talking about job overload but rather a fire for Jesus Christ burning hot and bright.
If you have a job you really love, over time, it's easy to feel overwhelmed with the daily tasks and duties of our work or business, over time we forget the reason we started doing it in the first place. It may be that our priorities have changed or the company we work for has lost the vision of it's original purpose. You may or may not have the luxury to change jobs. The responsibilities to our family and financial duties may not allow us just pick up and move to a new job.
Friday night I met a young Bronc rider, next year he will be in 9th grade. After we finished praying for the riders he grabbed me and asked if I would help him set his rig on the horse he had drawn. We'll I hadn't put this kind of rig on before but I said ok. He got on this 1,100 pound horse which was getting ready to bust out of the gate and this young man probably topped out at 95 pounds, yet he was focused on the task at hand. When the gate burst open, the horse turned left and shot straight into the air. The young bronc rider lasted about 3 seconds and then was thrown to the ground. As he walked from the arena over to the chute we exchanged a high five. "Good ride" I said, "how long you been ridin?" I asked, "Just about two months!", he replied.
This young man isn't too different from many of the boys, girls, men and women I meet at rodeos.
When they get knocked down they get right back up and start preparing for the next ride. That night our young bronc rider rode again and this time made the 8 second buzzer just in time to be thrown to the ground once more. This young man had a light burning bright from the inside.
Ephesians 5:14 says, for what makes everything clear is light.Sometimes our light can't shine because we're expecting someone else to turn on the switch. The only way that switch can be turned on is by letting Jesus work in our lives. How do you do that? Ask Him to make you into the person He wants you to be. Your passion may be horses or cowboy poetry, maybe playing the guitar, what-ever it is you can let your passion shine by using that talent for Christ. What makes your light shine? As we read deeper in Gods word and discover His will for our lives it will become apparent were we fit in to His plan.
For a light to begin to burn something has to strike it and cause it to ignite. So go beyond your job description or place in life and look to the passion hidden deep inside you. God has a purpose just waiting for you where you can burn brighter than you thought possible. Isaiah 40:31 says this,
But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.A cowboy climbs on an 1,100 pound horse or a 2,000 pound bull and holds on with one hand trying to make an 8 second ride to win a few dollars but one injury can take all that away. Cowboys and Cowgirls depend on performance to make a living, so what happens when the horse goes lame or becomes to old to ride? Living for God is a daily relationship, He wants you to become the person He made you to be. Make Jesus Christ the source that fuels your light. Yeah! living for God takes effort but the rewards are not temporary they are eternal.
Find what makes you shine and give it to God, take it and place it before Him and let Jesus use it for the good of Heavens benefit and your friends, family and others you come in contact with will be changed because of Jesus light shining thru you.
Galations 6:14
But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
