You Don’t Find Passion You Build It

Have you ever wondered why you haven’t found your passion yet? Maybe you’ve asked yourself the question in the dark, in the middle of a quiet moment why does it feel like everyone else has “their thing” figured out, but I don’t?

You're not alone.

In fact, according to research from the Stanford Center on Adolescence, 80% of people say they haven’t “found their passion” or a clear direction for their lives. That’s 8 out of 10 people walking around with the same quiet insecurity. And for many Christians, this insecurity comes wrapped in spiritual language. We’re told to find our calling, discover our purpose, and wait for the moment when God “reveals” the path we’re meant to follow often with as much mystique as finding a soulmate.

But what if this whole idea of "finding" your passion is the problem?

The truth is, your passion isn’t out there hiding like a treasure waiting to be unearthed. It’s not a magical career, a singular life purpose, or a romanticized vocation waiting to jump out from behind the next decision you make. It's not hiding in a college major, a dream job, or a missionary journey under the stars. Passion is not found. It is built.

And building something takes time, patience, courage and faith.

We get stuck when we believe there’s one “right” path to discover, and if we miss it, we’ve failed. But the Christian life was never meant to be navigated by chasing clarity. The Bible doesn’t call us to a GPS-like certainty, but to faithfulness. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Notice that it doesn't say to wait until you find your passion, then go. It says to trust, acknowledge, and go and God will direct the path as you walk it.

That means you don’t need a grand vision before you begin. Interest is enough. Curiosity is enough. Obedience in the little things is more than enough.

Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, co-founders of the Life Design Lab, encourage people to shift from asking “What’s my passion?” to “What am I curious about?” It’s a powerful change, and a freeing one. Instead of feeling frozen by the weight of a singular destiny, you’re free to explore, create, and adjust. You’re free to follow rabbit trails, try things, fail, and try again.

Because passion and purpose aren’t the destination. They’re what gets built when you keep showing up.

And spiritually speaking, the same holds true. Scripture is filled with people who didn’t get the full picture before they obeyed Abraham didn’t know where he was going when he left home (Hebrews 11:8), and Peter didn’t know what following Jesus would mean when he stepped out of the boat. But they moved anyway. They said yes to the next right thing. And through that obedience, purpose was shaped.

What if we stopped expecting God to drop our calling into our laps, and instead partnered with Him to build it? What if the sacred intersection of “your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger,” as Frederick Buechner once said, isn’t something you can see from here but something you’ll only recognize once you’ve been walking for a while?

There’s freedom in admitting you’re not quite sure. There’s beauty in beginning with just a spark of interest. That’s where the work begins. And that’s often where God begins too.

So don’t wait for the cinematic reveal. Don’t waste years waiting to feel certain. Instead, get moving. Write the first paragraph. Make the call. Sign up for the class. Serve in the ministry. Ask the question. Pray the scary prayer. Take the step.

Your path isn’t supposed to be pre-lit and perfectly straight. As poet Antonio Machado once said, “Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.”

So start walking. The rest will come.

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