It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  -Lamentations 3:22

Evil lurks in the world around us, and yet, the world is not consumed.

Evil emerges in our own motives and actions and neither are we consumed.

We are grieved by the suffering of humanity, but we know not what to do and we do not trust our capacity to do anything.

Is God waiting for us to feel the way He feels about the world and to make a difference?

Sometimes, the problems of the world seem like insurmountable mountains to climb. We are consumed by the pain we sense around us and our own inability to energize our personal resources to affect change. We grow discouraged and we cry out for mercy lest we are consumed with our own despair.

Compassion combines the concept of deep feeling with the idea of sharing (com=with).

God feels with us, deeply and profoundly. That means that He shares our passion, pain, and emotion. Yet, He is patient and He does not lose heart.

How do we tap into that?

Passion if the at the root of our energy for ministry. It is that God-given quality that enthuses us with clarity of vision and depth of conviction.

It moves us when we see the suffering of other people. It drives us when we understand what is to be done about it. Without passion, we whither.

With a vibrant passion we can overcome obstacles and rise above our moods.

Passion reminds us of our essential purpose and drives us forward. Some characteristics of passionate people are:

P—Positive Priorities—Instead of avoidance behavior, people with passion move toward their commitments aligning themselves with those activities that support the causes for which they are passionate.

A—Active Attitude Adjustments –Passionate people are constantly adjusting their own attitudes and actively tuning their minds in the direction of their goals and objectives.

S—Sincerity— There is no faking real passion. It bubbles up from within and is nurtured by our committed actions.

S – Simplicity—Passionate people can explain their mission to you in a few short sentences. Since it is clear to them, they can make it clear for you.

I—Inspiration—People with true God-given passion for ministry know the reality of God breathing His purpose through His Spirit into their lives. The calling is His and they are driven by that knowledge.

O—Open “Outwardness”— Not necessarily extroverts, passionate people love to talk about their mission and cause. It splashed out of their lives and is contagious.

N—Non-Negotiable— People with passion are not easily deterred from a mission. It becomes one of the non-negotiable values of their lives.

If we can combine our passion with our empathy so that we are touched deeply by the world's pain and driven to do something about it, we can find others that share our compassion and passion. When that happens, we can work together to make a big difference.

Our passion will drive us. Our compassion will not fail us. We will neither be consumed nor desire to consume, but we will serve.

There will be no mountain we cannot climb.