277. Showing Up

Some said, “80% of success is showing up”. There is no quantifiable way to know if it is true, but from my experience, this is a pretty valid statement. If you show up, something can happen. If you don’t, nothing will. And those “something” accumulate over time and result in “something” special.

For example, people think fitness is the result of strong will-power. But fitness is about being consistent, even if the result is not shown right away. When you are tired, but you still show up at the gym, you might not have the best workout, but something can happen. But if you don’t, nothing will happen.

I’m sure many people experienced the feeling of not wanting to do any work. However, often times, just dragging ourselves onto our chair started “something” and we even ended up getting a lot done simply because we showed up.

Same thing with Christian life. Many Christians think that they need to be extra spiritual to have a great faith. But it is mostly about showing up. It is about dragging ourselves to open the Bible in the morning to do QT or to pray. It is about showing up to house church when you are struggling. It is about showing up to the people you lead. Not every QT, prayer time, house church meeting and ministry will be a great experience. In fact, many of them won’t be. But when you show up anyway, something can happen. It might not be something so big. However, that’s still something.

Jesus disciples were no extraordinary people. They had clear flaws. However, when everyone left Jesus, they stuck around. They still showed up to follow Jesus. When the right time came, they changed the world upside down.

That is why God is searching for people who can show up. He has got enough talent and resources. That is why he needs someone who can consistently show up to demonstrate him to the world. And that is encouraging news for those who feel like they are not talented enough or skilled enough to do anything meaningful for God.