Scripture References: Philippians 3:5-6
You may receive your training in the light, but you will receive your passion in the dark, in moments when life feels like it is caving in on you. You don’t receive that kind of training on the bright light of the mountaintops but rather in the lingering dark shadows of the valleys. In those “dark nights of the soul” God gives you your direction and your passion. Great people are driven by their passion and guided by the direction of their God!
With his life in disarray, a young man, Steven Lavaggi sat on his bedroom’s wooden floor, and began searching his Bible for answers. His wife had just left him to marry a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. Ten days later, Steven discovered his son was stricken with Juvenile Diabetes. As if coping with the personal crisis wasn’t enough, he also lost his graphic art business.
Unemployed, abandoned, and worrying about his son, Steven turned to God’s Word. As he began to read, he skipped over the black letters, only wanting to read the words of Jesus in his red-letter Bible. The Risen Christ emerged from the pages. Steven surrendered and gave his life to Jesus.
As a new Christian, he clung to Psalm 91:11: “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Out of his brokenness, there developed a passion to create and deliver a message of hope. He left the lucrative world of graphic art he knew so well to become a fine artist.
Today he is doing just that. The response to his work has been overwhelming. Inspired by the Psalmist’s words he painted a 4‘ X 5‘angel. When a friend encouraged him to make the image three dimensional, he collaborated with a sculptor, and together they cast the angel and made two of them.
When they were completed he decided to call the sculptures, “The Angels of Reconciliation.”
His creation graced the cover of the GROWING CHURCHES magazine and two bronze statues are in the city of Lake Village, Arkansas symbolizing hope and reassurance for the times we live in.
Steven’s message would not exist without his passion! His message is easy to see, for it is based in the light, but remember, his passion was born in the dark, on a wooden floor while he grieved the loss of his wife, his job and his son’s health. Through the struggle, he gained a passion, and today, his works are changing the lives of people everywhere. 1
Knowledge will never change the world. Talent won’t change the world. Skills won’t change the world. Great people who leave their mark are ones with passion and that passion was often born in times of darkness.
Knowing this, let me present you with three challenges:
Recast your Past. While you walked through the darkness you wondered if God was forsaking you. Could it be that He was incubating passion?
Leverage your Losses. Consider why Candy Lightner found Mothers Against Drunk Driving? Why John Walsh became a crusader against America’s Most Wanted? Then ask yourself, what will you do with what you’ve learned during your “dark night of the soul?”
Hang On and Endure! Dark times do not necessarily mean you are out of God’s favor; they may be the turning points God uses to give you the direction and passion that will propel you into your destiny.
Remember, God’s testing is not to destroy us, but to refine us so that in all we do it will be done to glorify His wonderful and great Name!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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