Passion

I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Philippians 3:12

Josh Davis, winner of three gold medals during the 1996 Olympics, is a Christian who credits Christ with his success. One of the keys to his intensity, he told an interviewer, is Colossians 3:23: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”

This verse has its Old Testament parallel in Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.”

As we prepare to begin a new year, let’s determine to start it with passion, to press on with a desire to lay hold of what God wants us to do—and to do it with all our might.

In 1938, the great writer and preacher A. W. Tozer wrote a New Year’s editorial in his magazine, saying in part: “If you ask God to give you a special message for the opening year, one that will be made seasonable and real in every exigency of the unknown future, you will be surprised how faithfully He will fulfill His Word, and how fittingly the Holy Spirit will speak to you of things to come, and anticipate the real needs and exigencies of your life.”

Ask God to show you His plan for the New Year, and then live it out to the fullest . . . until He comes.