Just Show Up: A 5 Day Guide for Exhausted Christians Sýnishorn

Deep Faith

What does it mean to show up? Often it requires that you are physically present. But it’s bigger than that. It’s about moving through your life with a commitment to attend to the most important things. And it requires action. It means being willing to take that first scary step toward what you feel God is calling you to do. And then do it again.

The most essential factor to showing up? Deep faith.

Hebrews 11 is one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture. It’s often called the “hall of faith,” and it’s not hard to see why. The chapter lists the exploits of biblical characters like Abel, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joseph, and Rahab. Each is lauded for obeying God in the face of great difficulty. Abraham strikes out from his home when God calls him, “even though he did not know where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). Noah builds an entire ark before a drop of rain falls. Moses leaves the luxury of Pharaoh’s palace to side with the enslaved Hebrews, choosing “to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (Heb. 11:25).

How did they take these extraordinary actions? “By faith.” The words “by faith” appear twenty-one times in the passage. How do we know these Bible heroes acted by faith? Because many times they never saw the rewards for their righteous behavior. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,” the writer of Hebrews explains (Heb. 11:13). Yet they pressed on, convinced that God saw their obedience and would reward them. If not in this life, then in the one to come (Heb. 11:16).

We call these people “heroes,” but they were far from perfect. Dig into their stories. They were every bit as fallible as us. But they had an abiding faith in God. And it propelled them forward in the face of unimaginable adversity. Ultimately it wasn’t their talents or toughness that made them prevail. They did it “by faith.”

Without faith, it’s easy to give up. If your only confidence is in your own strength and abilities, you’ll throw in the towel the moment life throws a few punches at you. You might show up when things are good—when the weather is pleasant, and the sun is shining. But as soon as dark clouds appear and the winds of life start howling, you’ll pack it in.

But when you’re grounded in the unshakable promises of God, you can walk through the storm. You know that even if no one else sees what you’re doing, God does. You endure hardship in the present because you believe God will reward you in the future. You keep walking because you know that, even when you stumble, God has promised to catch you.