Showing Up...

“So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy…” Romans 7:16

I love taking my morning walks and usually take the same path.  There is this one area that has been cleared off, and gradually the skeleton of a structure has appeared.  Every time I walk by it I wonder what it is.  I try to guess sometimes but I still do not know what the outcome will be.  The other day as I was walking past the land there was a man lacing up his boots sitting in his car with the door open.  I stopped and asked him what were they building.  His response struck me funny at first, but after considering his words I was inspired.  He simply looked up, smiled and said, ‘I have no idea, they just told me to show up and they would tell me what I needed to know.’   

I began thinking about the times when God asked me to do something.  Unlike this worker, I’m sure I asked a million questions regarding God’s direction.  ‘How long will this job take?’  ‘How does my part fit in to my overall desires?’ ‘I want to know exactly what my circumstances are going to be.’  The list goes and on.  If we would just live our lives like this man…showing up…lacing up our boots to work…confident that the One in charge will tell us what we need to do…we will be a part of a beautiful story.  Our plans will become His plans, and the building of our lives will become His structure.  His vantage point is up above and far ahead than any perspective we might have.  We don’t need to know the inner workings of the plans God has for us.  Even if He revealed them to us, they probably would not make sense.  God’s plans for us are cumulative and progressive, one building on another. 

I love the image of the man showing up, getting his feet ready to contribute, and leaving everything else to the builder.  It is the way I want to be when God calls me to work for Him.  I want to be present and available.  I want to show up, so He can show out.  I want to be involved as a humble servant, instead of showing up as an entitled worker.  He will use us in His work to the degree of our surrendered hearts in our endeavors.  He is a great God with a great plan for our lives that He assigned us when He formed us.

"I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Romans 9:17