"What makes you pound your fist on the table?"

This next part really touched a nerve because I tend to be an emotional person. So it was great to read that God perhaps works through our emotions at times? Hmmm. That's what I gleaned from this next bit. What do you think?

Mark writes, "Supernatural sadness and righteous indignation often reveal our God-ordained passions. As in the case of Nehemiah, if something causes you to weep and mourn and fast and pray for days on end, it is a good indication that God wants you to take personal responsibility and do something about it. . . . So what makes you cry? What makes you pound your fist on the table? And let me add one more question to the mix: what makes you smile? If you want to discover your God-ordained passions, then you need to identify what makes you sad, mad or glad. And somewhere in the sadness, madness, or gladness you will find the Wild Goose waiting for you."

And get this . . .

"God-ordained passions often break our hearts. And they can seem like an overwhelming burden to bear. But pursuing our passions is the key to living a fruitful and fulfilling life. It is the thing that wakes us up early in the morning and keeps us up late at night. It is the thing that turns a career into a calling. It is the thing that gives us goose bumps - Wild Goose bumps. And nothing will bring you greater joy." (pgs. 22 & 23)


So what breaks your heart? What desires are in your heart as you delight in the Lord? Anything coming to mind?

Mark uses the illustration of conception to explain how God's desires multiply in our lives as we delight in Him and as we pray. "Wild Goose chases often start out as single-cell desires. Something unexplainable or inexpressible gets conceived in your spirit. . . . When we delight ourselves in the Lord, new desires are conceived within us. God literally downloads new desires. And those divine desires become an internal compass that guides us as we embark on a Wild Goose chase." (pg. 25)

Marks says we never know how this God-ordained passion will be conceived. It could be a mission trip, youth camp, conversation with someone, while reading a book or like Nehemiah, hearing news from a brother. I believe those times come when you are least expecting them. Like when someone from a foreign country -- an Axis of Evil country even! -- contacts you on a social-networking site and from that you gain new friendships, new experiences and new God-ordained passions in life. As least, that's my story. I wonder, what is yours?