Passion 2012

“Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; The desire of our souls if for Your name and for the remembrance of You.” Isaiah 26:8

At the beginning of the New Year I got the chance to be apart of Passion 268. The Passion Conference is held annually, and for the past few years it has been in Atlanta, Georgia. Passion consists of thousands of college age students coming together to worship the Lord and exhaust themselves in fellowship and Bible study for four days. It was easily one of the most incredible and tiring experiences of my life. Everyday I sat with 44,000 other young people in the Georgia Dome and listened to the Word of God preached by Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, John Piper, and Francis Chan. We were lead in worship by Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, and other great worship leaders. Together, along with other who donated online, we raised over 3 million dollars to help stop slavery all around the world. At Passion I learned that there are 27 million slaves on this earth today. That is more than there has ever been before.  We were testimonies from people who have witnessed slavery first hand and from people who have dedicated their lives to putting an end to it.

I was absolutely amazed at how much God intervened in so many lives, including my own. The first night I was there I knew that there were things in my life that I needed God to cleanse me of. I know that God was about to do a mighty work in my own heart and in the heart of so many others there. Isaiah 26:8 was the theme verse for the Passion Conference 2012. This theme was so evident in that dome over the four days we were there. We were crying out everyday to God that we had been and will wait for Him, for His mighty Hand to reach down and touch us and fill us with His Spirit. My soul was crying out for His deliverance, for Him to cleanse me of my filth and to create in me a clean heart. Over those days God began to break me and show me that there is nothing and no one else that I should desire more than Him. Being apart of a movement of so many professing Christ-followers from all around the nation and world was something I will never forget and will always cherish.

Passion showed me that my heart is more vulnerable and weak than what I ever knew. It is so important to never met our guards down with the world because it can seep its way into our lives with out us even knowing. I am absolutely and fully weak, but God’s grace is sufficient for me because His strength is made perfect in my weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)