Redirected Passion

Lately, God's really been speaking to me about how it does not matter how much of a passion for ministry I have, if my passion for Him is not there. Now, at first, this may seem like a "duh" statement. You might be thinking a passion for ministry comes from a passion for Christ. And I think it can, it does, and it should, but it doesn't always happen that way. There's no doubt that my initial call into ministry and my passion that originally developed for ministering to teens came from a deep passion and growing relationship with Christ. However, since I have been at school, I feel as though that passion has diminished. Don't get me wrong, I love the Lord with all my heart. And being at school, I am continually growing in my knowledge of Him. But too often I find myself getting caught up in this knowledge of Him, and how to preach homiletically, and my philosophies regarding ministry to the extent that I begin neglecting my walk with Him. But God's really been working with me on this. My ministry will be nothing if I do not have an intimate relationship with Him. It does not matter how much I love teens, how well I can preach, how creative I am in programming, or anything else if I am not first of all dedicated to my relationship with Him. This is something that is becoming even more real to me the closer we get to being done here at school. In just over a year we will be on our internship, and after that we will be looking for a church to work at. That's just crazy. Just thought I'd share these few thoughts that God has been working with me on. Have a great day everyone. much love