Day 338: Show Up!

Matthew 7:7

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Contrary to the popular belief, acting is hard. There’s so much work that goes into it, more than just reading a script and saying lines, anybody can do that. But a real actor makes you believe the lines, makes you feel what they are talking about, connecting with the audience and the other characters. We put all the work in behind the scenes so the performance you see looks real and effortless. With that being said, one of the best things my teacher has said to me was, ‘half the job of an actor is to just show up, and then you keep showing up.’ Meaning, we have to be there of we want to work we have to show up to rehearsal, ad before that we have to show up to the audition if we want the job. There are two points I want to make today. One being that if we want anything from God we have to make the effort to show up. The second being if we want anything out of life, we have to make the effort to show up.

Matthew 7:7 is a scripture that I have been hearing all my life. I have heard people talk about it in sermons, conversations, and bible studies. What I grew to understand about the scripture is that if we want something we have to ask. If we want the door to open we have to knock on it. If we want to find something we have to look for it. The scriptures are more literal sometimes than we think. A lot of times we think we are entitled to receive extra things from God so we do not ask. God has given us so much already that if He never does anything else He has done enough. We get to a point when we want the presence of God in our lives but we stop seeking His face. Or we want a door to open in our lives and we’re not knocking because we expect God to do exactly what we want when we want it. God will open doors in our lives but sometimes He wants to see that we have enough faith to knock, that we are willing to take a step, and sometimes that step is knocking on a door. This scripture is a testament that we give what we get, and in order to get something we have to give. We have to take the first step. God is already there waiting for us to show us, it’s us who keep Him waiting. We must make the decision to take the first step toward Him and see where it takes us.  

With that being said, we as humans sometimes forget that life is full of opportunities but only if we choose to take them. Our generation has been called entitled on many occasions, they say we think the world owes us something. While I disagree with that notion, I do believe that we must understand that things aren’t going to come knocking on our doors. God has blessed each and every one of us with a purpose and sometimes we use being called by God as an excuse as to why we can’t get up and do something. We sometimes use God’s calling on our lives as an excuse to do nothing or an excuse not to put any effort into our lives but expect so much out of it. What I’m saying is that God will open a door but He’s not going to walk through it for us. God took the first step by carving out a path for us we have to choose to walk it. As  performer one thing I know for a fact is that if I do not go the audition I will not get the part. If we do not first take a step we will never get to where we are going. If we do not at least knock on the door it will not be opened. If we never ask the question we’ll always sit wondering what the answer was.

All this to say, just show up. Make an effort to do something and not hide away. Show up in your relationship with God, take a step of faith towards Him and watch what He does. Show up for life, whatever you want, whatever God has called you to do or be, show up. It’s scary but it’s so worth it, because God is already there. He’s just waiting on us to show up, sometimes that’s all we have to do. We can’t flake on God, if we do, not only are flaking on Him but we’re flaking on ourselves.

Make the effort, just show up! Dare to make an effort.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to think about and pray about what we discussed today. Ask yourself if you are showing up in life, in your relationship with God. Take the time to talk to God about whatever you discovered today and whatever is on your heart.

I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 339!