My Calling: I've Lost my Passion! Now What?

July 6, 2009

By Contributors to ninetyandnine.com 
 

Sometimes we find our passion and turn our passion into our calling, but then the inevitable happens…in the middle of all our hard work, we feel our passion ebb away.  Here's some advice for those of you who've found yourself in this position, and don't know what to do.   
 

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What happens if your passion for your current calling lessens, but you don't feel called to another (yet)? 

Travis Carter:

“Lack of passion” may just be another word for no anxiety, which is a good thing. People's passions can also change over time. When one calling slows down in activity simply look for other passions to fulfill. I have a few different passions that phase in and out. Combined, they produce a very fulfilling life.   

Travis Carter from Staten Island, NY, starts by telling people his name and then explains what he does. Not the other way around. He is also nocturnal by nature and enjoys breakfast the night before.  
 

You wait on God. Passion waxes and wanes and waxes again. Callings require dogged diligence. Even though some callings may be for a time and place, whatever the calling, it must be held on an open palm. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh... blessed be the Name of the Lord. You are a steward. Fulfill your calling until He (or His delegated authority) releases you. If you get possesive and clutch at your calling, you err because it was not yours to begin with. If you wander off too soon, you become an unfaithful steward. Know that God opens and closes doors. Trust Him implicitly. His Word says His gifts and callings are without repentance, and, He takes no pleasure in those who turn or draw back. He is a faithful God. He also requires faithfulness in His stewards. 

As she retires from the workaday world, Marjorie Kinnee is entrusting her future to the safest of all hands and seeking His face while she waits on His leading.  

I have experienced this recently, actually. I attended Bible College for two and a half years, after which I felt called to assist my parents in their home missions church. After three years of serving in the home missions setting, I was totally burnt out. I knew that my passion had faded and that I could not continue in that role any more.  

The transition from leaving home missions to becoming involved in an already established and growing church has taken a while. In fact, I purposed in my heart before I moved back to Texas that I would give myself at least 8 months for a transition time before I began to get involved in my new church. I'm now on month 10, and I started getting involved in month 7.  

Allowing myself time to transition was the best thing I could have ever done. I didn't put any expectations or pressures on myself to be involved immediately. I spent those months focusing on prayer and my relationship with God. In my time of prayer I received a lot of healing from my previous burn-out experience. Without that time of transition, I would not have been able to find my fit at my new location. Now that I'm healed, I'm ready for restoration, and God is opening up greater doors than I ever had before! He is renewing my passion, giving me new dreams, and showing me what steps He wants me to take next!  

Rachael Hartman is an aspiring writer, editor, and graduate student. She loves going on adventures to places she has never been, and meeting people of various cultures and backgrounds. In her off time, she gets childhood joy out of winning Prada purses and blackberries through playing Sorority Life on Facebook.  

 
Sometimes the Lord calls us to a ministry for a time period. I know that 
when you are released spiritually from a ministry, but you are still on 
location, it can be a challenge. You may start to question yourself, your 
sanity, and even your walk with God. Do not. The Lord might be releasing you 
from your current calling and in the same time equipping you for your next 
challenge. I know that we so often live in fear that we will miss the timing of God, or His purpose in our lives. If you are being sensitive to the Lord, you will not.  His timing is perfect. Maybe He still has you there because He is still grooming the "Elisha" in your life that will replace your position.  Usually if the Lord is moving you on to another ministry He will 
bring in an Elisha for you to train, work with, and mentor.  
 
Other times your passion dwindles because you are going through a time frame 
of burn out, or not feeling appreciated. You simply need a time of 
refreshing from your weariness. If that is the case you have to return to that first calling , that first love, and that first passion.  As a leader, or front runner there WILL be times of frustration. People do not see the long hours, the burden, the sacrifices that you have made to get 
where you are. You have to- as David did- encourage yourself in the Lord. 
Seek the Lord with all of your heart and take time to just sit and bask in 
His presence. Attach yourself to three Godly; spiritual men or women whom 
you make yourself accountable to.  Men and women who will encourage you,  
pray with you, give Godly wisdom in your situations. 

Cylinda Shirley Nickel serves as the MK Ministries Assistant Coordinator and Office Manager. She, her husband and two girls currently call NC home. 
 

Continue to be faithful in the things you can do in practical ministry while giving yourself often to prayer, fasting, and The Word. And try door handles until one opens.  

Travis Miller is a husband, father, and cyclist. His ongoing challenge in life is to become a better human.  

 
Passion is a deep, significant human response to something we love and value. Passion makes our jobs easier to accomplish when things are difficult. However, passion should never be a primary motivator for the pursuit of our calling. Like any emotional response, passion can be fleeting. When I was 8, I was passionate about becoming a pediatrician. When I was 18, I barely passed my freshman biology class, and I was glad that God had shown me well beforehand that pediatrics was not my calling. :) 
 
Not to plagiarize Rick Warren or anything, but he is right to say that we must be purpose-driven, not passion-driven. The life of Jesus bears this out. The prayer in Gethsemane shows us that He wasn't feeling passionate about being crucified, but His purpose superceded His passion. In fact, we should really refer to His sacrifice as the Purpose of the Christ, rather than the Passion of the Christ.  
 
When passion wanes (and it will), our purpose is often unchanged. We must remember that when we no longer feel the emotional impetus to do our work, our purpose remains. 
 
Melissa Fross is pursuing her calling by becoming a counselor (a process that can drive one to become the couselee instead). 
 

Stay focused on God and keep checking the source :) God will open another door...or possibly the same one with new perspective.   

Amanda Rushing is currently work full time at Edward Jones in MO and I just graduated from Urshan Graduate School of Theology with my Master of Divinity. 
 

This can be one of the toughest times in a person's life because it can lead to bewilderment or loss of perspective. It must be remembered that the Scriptures say that promotion only comes from God. He alone exalts and sets down. So if we're going through a time when we can't see exactly where we fit in the Kingdom, we must remember that man doesn't call us, God does. Just because an idea or pursuit didn't work out like we thought it would does not mean that God does not have a plan. We must rely on Him to lead us one step at a time.  

David Bunch is a passionate pursuer of God. 
 

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