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!

Day 76: This One Thing I Ask

Psalms 27:4

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.

When I first read this scripture I was captivated by it. This scripture is so beautifully profound. As David is telling God, if there is anything you can give me, one thing, allow me to dwell in your house all the days of my life. Keep me near you Lord. That’s the one thing He wants. Out of everything he has or had, the man was a king he was rich, He could have anything He wanted. But over all that, He wants to dwell in the house of the Lord, every single day for the rest of His life.

Then He goes on to say that He wants to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. We think of God as many things, rarely do we think of Him as beautiful. And I don’t mean the physical beauty and none of us have ever seen God physically, but beauty as in essence. God is the type of person that we don’t need to see to know He’s beautiful.

It’s like speaking with a person who is blind, the eyes of a blind (wo)man are fascinating. When asked how they know that someone is beautiful, their response would be something like beauty isn’t always seen. Beauty is deeper than the skin. Beauty lies in the essence or soul of a person. Or like falling in love with a person, may times I’ve heard men say about their wives, “I didn’t have to see her to know she was beautiful”. That is how it is when thinking about the beauty of God. It is not physically it is the very nature of God, that makes Him beautiful, His essence. The spirit of God is beautiful. That we can gaze at His beauty forever and find something even more beautiful about Him everyday. We will rest in His beauty and never find that it will fade. This is what David wants to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

To inquire means to investigate, look into, or ask of someone. David wants to learn and grow with God. All the days of His life He will be in the temple seeking answers looking into this relationship with God, the most beautiful being in all existence.

This is all He wants, out everything He could have David chooses to be up under God, to dwell in His house, gaze upon His beauty and inquire in His temple. I think David was onto something. I think David knew, He had a knowledge of what real living looked like. He knew that if He had everything and not God He had nothing at all. But He knew that with God he had everything even if that meant his earthly possessions were bare. God can give us anything we want, and anything we ask, but what would that one thing be. David wanted eternity with the one true King. He wanted to be in the presence of the Lord for all His days. That’s what real living is, Out of everything I ask for and out of everything you have given me, here is the one thing I want more than anything,that  is to be close to you. That is all I ask. Everything I need is where you are, everything I want is where you are.  I love that attitude, I love that request, and I love that this is something that David said He will seek. I will seek your presence, I will seek your comfort, and your face, I will seek your beauty so that I can gaze upon it. So I can sit in your presence all my days. This is what I want Lord. This is a beautiful scripture to meditate and dwell upon.

Reflection

1. If you could ask God for one thing what would it be?

Prayer Time

Meditate on the scripture, and talk to God. Whatever you feel led to pray about to today, talk to God about it. This is between you and Him.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Share this with someone and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 77!