FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

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!

¹ For More Information about “The Angel’s of Reconciliation,” go to https://lavaggi.com/
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture References: Philippians 3:5-6

In Philippians 3:13–14, Paul gives his formula for success: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Notice that Paul knew he was on a journey, he hadn’t yet attained his destination, and Paul was not allowing his past accomplishments or failures to rob him of the potential of his future. But the key to his success and thus his greatness is found in verse 14. He is driven by God’s upward call, he was passionate! A passion he received in the darkness on his way to and while in Damascus.

After his conversion, Persecutor Saul became the Apostle Paul, a prolific writer, penning nearly half of the books of the New Testament. Paul was a church planter, representing the church on three missionary journeys to plant churches and nurture believers. He was a leader that molded the future of the church and trained others to lead. He was passionate.

They stoned him and he kept preaching. Because of his determination? No! Because of his passion! They threw him in prison, but he kept on praising. Because of his superior discipline? No! Because of his passion! They chained him to a guard and put him under house arrest but he kept on writing. Because of his will power? No! Because of his passion!

Other great leaders found their passion through trials.

Joseph’s journey to greatness wasn’t through a life of privilege as the favorite son of his father, but in a pit at the hands of his jealous brothers and a jail cell at the hands of Potipher’s deceptive wife. Again, not in the light, but in the dark. He emerged with a passion to know and do the will of God!

Daniel’s moment of truth did not take place under a spotlight, but before an open window in Babylon where he prayed, not concerned who could see. Not in the light, but in the dark. He emerged with passion! Whether in the King’s court or in the lion’s den, he had a passion for righteousness.

David’s defining moment did not come among his father’s sheep at home, but in a battlefield against a Philistine champion. Not in the light, but again, in the dark. He emerged with a passion to know and follow God’s heart!

Saul’s turning point did not come at the feet of Gamaliel, where he studied, or in the synagogue where he worshiped, but after an encounter with a Holy God who confronted him with his unrighteousness. Not in the light, but in the blindness of the dark. Thus Paul emerged with a passion to build the church that as Saul he once tried to destroy!

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture References: Philippians 3:5-6

Saul was a Pharisee. Now, I know that today, the word carries a negative connotation because of their many conflicts with Jesus, but remember that Saul is giving his qualifications as a Jew in this text. The sect of the Pharisees began a couple hundred years before Christ with the intent of combating the Hellenization of the Jews and a desire to restore purity to their religion. They had a strong focus on keeping the law. The Pharisees turned the 10 commandments into 613 prohibitions, including 39 kinds of work that was prohibited on the Sabbath Day.

I know that sounds a little bureaucratic and extreme, very legalistic, but their heart was in the right place, at the time, even if their efforts were misguided. Their “aim was not prudery but piety.” The Pharisees numbered around 6000 in Jesus’ time, the largest of the Jewish sects.

So Saul presented a very glowing resume, as far as the Pharisees were concerned, but Rabbi Saul never achieved greatness, not until a life changing (and name changing) event, a turning point as it were.

You may all remember that on the road to Damascus, Saul carried letters giving him the authority to persecute Christians from the Jewish leaders, yet unforeseen to Saul, God had another idea. “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:3–6).

God struck Saul to the ground and sent the proud man to Damascus with orders to wait until someone comes to tell him what to do. Saul went.

What was the journey like? He was a blind man going into an unfamiliar city to receive orders from a stranger. Did he stumble? Did he fall? Was he anxious? Why did God require him to “hurry up and wait?” Why didn’t God tell him what Saul needed to know right on the spot, instead of sending him, a blind man on an errand?

Saul had a choice to make. Did he return to Jerusalem and his former life, or did he forget about his privilege, throw his resume on the dung heap and embrace his future? He ambled into town, not in the light, but in the darkness. It was in the darkness, that he found his passion and ultimately achieved his greatness.

Many times, God does not engrave great people with passion in the light. God carves passion, that key element of greatness, on their character in the “dark night of the soul.”

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.