A Passion for Christ Starts With What Breaks God’s Heart

People talk about passion like it is personality. Like some people are naturally intense and others are not.

But biblical passion is not about being intense. It is about being moved.

Nehemiah 1 shows us what that looks like. Nehemiah hears about Jerusalem’s condition and it does something to him. He weeps. He mourns. He prays for days.

Why?

Because a city was broken and the people were living in disgrace. Nehemiah felt the weight of it. And somewhere in that moment, God was shaping a burden into a mission.

There’s a line I’ve heard before that I cannot shake. “God, may my heart be broken by the things that break yours.”

That is a dangerous prayer, because God will answer it.

If you pray that prayer, you will start seeing what you used to ignore.

You will notice the lonely person who always slips out quickly.

You will notice the neighbor who is quietly falling apart.

You will notice the family that looks fine on the outside but is barely holding it together.

You will notice the people who have been hurt by church and now keep God at arm’s length.

You will notice the broken walls in your own city.

Nehemiah’s passion did not begin with a building project. It began with love. Love for God. Love for people. Love for his home.

That’s where passion for Christ begins too.

Jesus said the greatest command is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–39). When those two loves grow, passion follows.

You do not have to force it.

You do not have to fake it.

When you love what God loves, you start caring about what He cares about.

And you start wanting other people to come home.

That’s why this matters. Passion is not just for your own spiritual life. It is for the people around you. God gives His people a burden for the broken so that broken people can find their way home.

That’s what sharing your faith really is. It is not winning arguments. It is not pressuring people. It is loving people enough to invite them toward Jesus.

The Bible says faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Works do not save you. Jesus saves you. But real faith always moves. It always shows up. It always cares. It always takes a step.

So here are three questions for the new year:

What is breaking God’s heart in my city?

Who is God putting in my path?

What step is He asking me to take?

You do not have to do everything. Nehemiah did not rebuild the whole city alone. But he did obey God’s burden.

And God used it.

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:4, James 2:17, Matthew 22:37–39