Don’t Give up on Your Passion!

October 30th, 2024
by Kevin Darnell

In college athletics, every college recruits a base of talented players to play for their particular sport and these players receive scholarships. Other students are allowed to try out for the team but not all of them receive any type of scholarship help. This type of student-athlete is called a “walk on”. A “walk on” athlete usually doesn’t play much but joins the team because of their love for the sport.

A few years ago, a young high school football quarterback had a great desire to play major college football. However, his size at the quarterback position limited him to being recruited by smaller colleges. His passion and desire was to play for his favorite college football team, which was a major college program. However, he was never recruited by them. But his young man didn’t give up.

Undeterred, he enrolled at that major college and decided to try to walk on to the team of his dreams. But not at quarterback, but at wide receiver. He was successful and by his sophomore season he was not only starting at wide receiver, he had also be awarded a football scholarship.

This player went on to win 2 national champions and was drafted by the NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders. That young man’s name was Hunter Renfrow. He didn’t give up but stuck to his passion.

In Joshua chapter 14, we meet an 85 year old man named Caleb. Caleb was Joshua’s partner in spying out the land 45 years before. God had promised them this land and in Joshua 14:7, he made a statement that was very revealing as he said, “as it was in my heart”. Forty-five years previous to this, Caleb had a passion for fulfilling the will of God. In particular, he was passionate about the mountainous area he had visited called Hebron.

Caleb was passionate about it because, first, God had promised it to him. Second, because that is where some of the giants lived. Back over in chapter 11, we read where Joshua and the entire army had defeated those giants, but there was a remnant that remained. God had now tasked the individual tribes to drive out the people that lived in the lands that each tribe inherited. A portion of that remnant of giants was in the hill country of Hebron.

Caleb didn’t want to wait and see if some other tribe would drive out those giants, he wanted to experience the hand of God using him to accomplish this impossible task. It was a passion that he had carried for 45 years and he wasn’t going to let age prevent him from carrying out the will of the LORD. As it turned out, he was successful in this endeavor.

Can you imagine the low moments that Caleb must have experienced over that 45 year period? He stayed faithful to God through it all and that kept that passion alive.

No matter how young or old you are; no matter how low you get; no matter how many times you are discouraged or rejected, don’t let the flame of a God-called passion in your life be extinguished. Stay faithful to the LORD; push in closer to Him each day; pray and ask the LORD for more of Him in your life every day. It will take patience and a lot of hard work but don’t give up on your passion!

These are your Words for Wednesday!

Please make plans to join us this Sunday morning at 10:45 at Ballentine Elementary School for worship. Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,
Kevin