Strength for Today

Week Seven: The Ministry of Showing Up

Sometimes showing up doesn't mean having everything perfectly together. Sometimes showing up looks like:

Arriving late.
Showing up tired.
Showing up when the week didn't go according to plan.
Showing up when you don't feel particularly prepared.
Showing up when you're wondering whether what you're doing even matters.

Sometimes faithfulness simply looks like: Showing up anyway, and maybe that's something we need to talk about.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” ~Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

We tend to notice the big things. The accomplishments, the milestones, the people doing extraordinary things, the moments that make wonderful testimonies. Here's the thing - so much of the Christian life isn't lived in extraordinary moments. It's lived in ordinary ones. It's getting up and doing the thing God has placed in front of you; again and again, and again.

It's praying for someone when nobody knows you prayed.
It's sending the text.
Making the phone call.
Cooking the meal.
Sitting beside someone who is hurting when you don't know what to say.
Opening your Bible when you don't feel especially spiritual.
Loving the difficult person.
Encouraging someone when you're tired yourself.
Serving your family when nobody says thank you.
Keeping a promise.
Doing the right thing when nobody is watching.
Coming back to God after you've gotten distracted.
Trying again after yesterday didn't go particularly well.

None of those things may feel remarkable, but perhaps we've confused visible with valuable. God sees faithfulness the world never applauds. 

Jesus often ministered simply by being present.

When you read through the Gospels, it's striking how often Jesus stopped for people.

He noticed them.
He listened.
He sat at tables.
He touched people others avoided.
He welcomed children.
He wept with grieving friends.
He allowed Himself to be interrupted.

Sometimes His ministry looked miraculous, and sometimes it looked like presence.

When Lazarus died, Jesus knew resurrection was coming. He knew exactly what He was about to do, and yet when He stood with Mary and Martha in their grief, Scripture gives us those two extraordinary words: “Jesus wept.” ~John 11:35

He didn't rush past their grief simply because He knew the ending. He entered it with them. There is something powerful about that.

When someone we love is hurting, we often feel pressure to fix it. We search for the right words, the perfect Scripture, the explanation that will somehow make everything hurt less; but sometimes people don't need us to explain their pain. Sometimes they simply need someone willing to sit beside them in it.

Presence can be ministry. 

You don't have to do something enormous to make a difference.

I think sometimes we imagine being “used by God” has to look impressive.

A platform.
A ministry.
A microphone.
A huge audience.
A dramatic calling.

But Scripture is filled with ordinary acts of faithfulness that mattered enormously.

A boy offered his lunch.
A widow gave two small coins.
Friends carried a paralyzed man to Jesus.
A woman poured perfume at His feet.
Someone provided an upper room.
Someone carried a cross.
Someone prepared a tomb.

Small acts. Ordinary people. Sacred moments.

We see the whole story now, so we understand their significance, but I wonder whether the people living those moments realized how much their simple act of obedience mattered. Maybe not; and perhaps that's important.

You may not always get to see what God does with your faithfulness either. 

Sometimes showing up is for someone else.

There are people who remember who showed up.
Who called when everyone else became quiet.
Who sat in the waiting room.
Who brought dinner.
Who remembered the difficult anniversary.
Who sent the card.
Who prayed.
Who noticed.
Who stayed.

Years later, they may not remember everything you said, but they'll remember: You were there.

Never underestimate what that can mean to someone walking through a difficult season.

You don't need all the answers to love somebody well.
You don't have to fix what they're going through.
You don't have to have experienced the same thing.

Sometimes the greatest gift you can offer is simply: “I'm here.”

That said, sometimes showing up is for you. This part matters too. Why? Because there will be seasons when showing up feels difficult.

Maybe you're exhausted, discouraged, distracted, or disappointed.
Maybe you've been doing the right thing for a long time and you don't see any fruit from it. That's where Galatians 6:9 meets us: “Let us not become weary in doing good...”

Notice Scripture doesn't say we won't become weary. It tells us what to do when weariness comes. Don't give up.

There is a difference between being weary and being finished.

Friend, maybe you're just tired, and tired people sometimes mistake exhaustion for a sign that they should quit.

Rest may be necessary.
Help may be necessary.
A slower pace may be necessary.

But none of those things mean you've failed. Resting and quitting are not the same thing. Sometimes faithfulness means moving forward, and sometimes it means slowing down. Sometimes it means allowing God to restore you so you can keep going.

Showing up doesn't mean showing up perfectly.

I think some of us need permission to hear that. Perfectionism can disguise itself as faithfulness. We tell ourselves:

If I can't do it properly, I shouldn't do it at all.
If I missed the right time, it's too late.
If I can't give 100%, my effort doesn't count.

God has never required perfection before He can use our obedience. Look at the people He used throughout Scripture.

Moses felt inadequate.
Gideon was afraid.
Peter was impulsive.
Thomas doubted.

The disciples repeatedly misunderstood what Jesus was doing, and still, God worked through imperfect people who kept saying yes.

Maybe faithfulness isn't getting everything right. Maybe faithfulness is continuing to return to the One who does.

Then there is showing up for God

This may be the most important part. There will be mornings when prayer feels powerful, and mornings when it doesn't. Days when Scripture seems to leap off the page, and days when you read the same verse three times because apparently your brain had other plans. Show up anyway.

There will be seasons when you feel incredibly close to God, and seasons when you wonder why He seems quiet.

Show up anyway.

Not because God is keeping attendance. Not because you earn His love by having a perfect devotional routine; but because relationships deepen through presence.

Come distracted.
Come tired.
Come with questions.
Come when all you have is: “Jesus, I need You.”

You don't have to impress Him, you simply have to come.

Sometimes that quiet decision to keep returning to God becomes the place where roots grow deepest.

Maybe the ministry God has given you today is closer than you think. 

Maybe it isn't something you'll someday begin. Maybe it's already happening.

In your home.
At your workplace.
In the grocery store.
In a text conversation.
Beside someone's hospital bed.
At the kitchen table.
In the car with your child.
In the way you treat the person nobody else notices.
In the prayer nobody hears.
In the encouragement you almost didn't send.

We spend so much time wondering: “God, what do You want me to do with my life?”

Sometimes the answer begins with: “Look at who I've placed in front of you today.”

You may never know how much one moment of kindness mattered.
You may never see what happened after the prayer.
You may never know whether the person kept the card.
You may never hear how badly they needed the words you almost didn't send.

But obedience doesn't require knowing the outcome, it simply requires being willing to show up.

So, yes... this week's Strength for Today is late, and strangely, I'm grateful for the reminder it gave me.

Life isn't always going to cooperate with our plans.
We won't always get everything right.
We won't always feel prepared, and we certainly won't always show up looking polished.

But we can still show up.

For God.
For the people we love.
For the stranger who needs kindness.
For the assignment in front of us.
For the life we've been given.

Maybe some of the holiest moments of our lives won't be the ones when we did something extraordinary. Maybe they'll simply be the moments when we could have walked away but chose to stay.

This Week's Reflection

Ask yourself: Where has weariness made me want to stop showing up?

Is there someone in my life who doesn't need me to fix anything, but simply needs me to be present?

And perhaps the more difficult question: Have I been waiting for a “big” opportunity to serve God while overlooking the ordinary opportunities He's already placed in front of me?

Look around your life this week. There may be ministry happening closer than you realize.

✍️ Journal Prompt

At the top of a page, write: “Where is God asking me to show up?”

Then make three small headings:

For God.
For others.
For myself.

Under each one, write one simple way you can be present and faithful this week. Don't make an enormous plan. Choose something small enough to actually do.

A prayer.
A phone call.
Ten quiet minutes with God.
A card.
An apology.
A conversation.
A boundary.
An act of kindness.
A needed rest.

Then finish with: “This week, faithfulness will look like _____________” and fill in the blank.

🙏 A Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You that You don't ask us to be perfect before You can use us. Thank You for meeting us during ordinary days, messy schedules, tired hearts, interrupted plans, and imperfect attempts.

Lord, teach us the ministry of showing up. Help us notice the people You've placed around us. Give us eyes to see the person who needs encouragement, ears to truly listen, and hearts willing to be interrupted.

When someone is hurting and we don't know what to say, remind us that we don't always need answers. Sometimes we simply need to be there.

Father, when we're the weary ones, meet us there too. Help us recognize when we need rest rather than surrender. Strengthen us when doing good feels unnoticed. Remind us that You see every quiet act of obedience that nobody else applauds; and when we feel inadequate, remind us that You have never needed our perfection. You simply ask for our hearts.

Help us keep coming back to You. Distracted, tired, uncertain, imperfect, but willing. Show us where You are inviting us to be present this week, and give us courage to show up.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

🌿 A Blessing for Your Week

May you notice the sacred moments hiding inside ordinary days.

May God give you strength when you're weary, grace when you fall behind, and wisdom to know when you need to rest.

May you recognize the people He's placed in front of you.

May you never underestimate the power of a prayer, a phone call, a listening ear, a meal, a card, a hug, or simply saying: “I'm here.”

When you wonder whether your small acts of faithfulness matter, may you remember: God sees what others don't. You don't have to show up perfectly. Just keep showing up faithfully.

One person.

One prayer.

One ordinary act of obedience.

One day at a time.

Until next Tuesday...

With grace, coffee & leggings,
☕ZQueenBee