The Power Of Showing Up

   How many people in your life can you count on to show up no matter what? In the last 10-15 years in America there has been a noticeable decrease in dependable job attendance, volunteer hours, church attendance, and community involvement. The isolation of Covid most certainly made things worse but this has been a trend for quite a while now. 

   When we evaluate the impact of our lives in the world we tend to focus on our skills, status, position, and wealth. The most unnoticed area of impact in our daily disciplines tends to be this idea of dependability. Have you noticed that dependability is a hard quality to find? Have you considered that your greatest area of impact in your family, church, job, and community could be coming from your willingness to show up each and every day and ask God what He wants you to do to make things better? At a time when many people are able to work from home the greatest need they have is to find dependable and reliable relationships. At a time when most people are trying to free up their schedules for personal pursuits there are a lot of opportunities for people who are willing to sacrifice their time and resources to meet the needs that are around them.

How would it change your life and the lives of those around you if you decided to stop doing things half way and instead started to show up with a heart full of gratitude asking God to show you how to make things better? Here are five places in your life that you can show up to and make a significant difference in Jesus' name!

First, you need to show up before the throne of God. The book of Hebrews tells us that Christ has atoned for our sin so that we can boldly approach the throne of God and find the grace we need for every day. Once we learn to walk in God's grace and forgiveness we can then grow to start intereceding for the needs of the people that are around us. The Holy Spirit loves to share the burdens that He has for this world with us so that we can pray and then work to be a part of His redemption plan. Make sure to start every day with prayer and go back to the Lord in prayer as needed throught the day. He loves to answer those who look to Him and cry out to Him.

Second, you need to show up at home. Home is the primary place for growing us up out of our selfishness. If you pay attention at home there's a lot that you can do there to serve your family with the love of Christ. The question is are you willing to see what needs to be done and then be a part of meeting the need? This kind of mentality will require you to break out of your lazy indifference. It will mean that you will have to put the phone down. But if you do, you will find yourself growing closer to your family as you see God meeting needs through your sacrifice. 

Third, you need to show up at work. Work is a blessing from God! We get to be productive and creative because we are made in His image. He's the One that has given us the ability to make a living; so our work is an act of worship to what or who we value the most. If money is our highest goal then we will be tempted to do whatever it takes to make enough money. If status is our highest goal then we will work to seek a desirable position so that people respect us. But if we work as unto the Lord then we will have an eteranal purpose in all of our work. Rather than trying to please rude people, we will work in order to hear "well done good and faithful servant" from the Lord. Have you ever stopped to think how much your work has an impact when it comes from a thankful and serving spirit? Your work is accomplishing more than you realize. Keep offering it up as a sacrifice to the Lord!

Fourth, you need to show up at church. The gathering together of God's people is necessary more than ever. Satan's goal is to isolate people and destroy them. Christ's goal is to reconcile people to the Father and to one another, and then to bring them into fellowship with other believers for encouragement. If you are a believer, where is your congregation? Christian, your input and gifts are needed in a local, Bible preaching church. If you are not joining in the fellowship then there are most certainly other believers going without much needed encouragement and fellowship. In many churches most of the input and ministry is done by church staff rather than the congregation. This is going to need to change if we are going to obey the call of Christ to preach the gospel to all the nations and disciple those who believe. What does God want you to do as a part of His church? You will not know the answer to this until you show up consistently and ask Him.

Fifth, and finally, you need to show up at the place of need. Believers down through the years have ministered the gospel while meeting the needs around them. This showed that their message had credibility from God. Did you know that Sunday School got started during the Industrial Revolution? Many poor children were forced to work in the factories during that time and couldn't attend school, so there were believers that started Sunday Schools to teach those children to read. They learned the Bible and many of them became believers because there were Sunday School teachers that cared about them. Who does God want you to care about? What needs are there around you that would require sacrifice to meet? Is there a team to coach, some meals to deliver, or some one-on-one mentoring to do? Look for a need and then meet it. Find your niche of service and devote yourself to it! When you show up you will be providing something that a computer screen can never offer. Love, guidance, and friendship.

Blessings!

Pastor Paul