The Posture of Availability
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
Insight
We’ve all experienced those powerful moments when everything seems to click into place. The heaviness lifts and we’re reminded that we are right where we're meant to be, doing precisely what we were made for. In those sacred moments, we aren't striving or straining. We are simply being - being present, being available, being open, and willing for God to use us.
That's the beautiful essence of leverage. Leverage isn't about effort or hustle or making things happen through sheer force of will. Leverage is about posture - the posture of being fully present and offering ourselves as living sacrifices, ready and available for whatever God wants to do through us.
Too often we view sacrifice as being all about what we have to give up. But biblical sacrifice is the opposite - it's about making everything available. It's saying to God, "All that I am and all that I have is Yours. Use me as You will." We aren't withholding or protecting anything. We are putting it all on the altar with open hands.
Radical surrender and availability are at the core of leverage. It's what empowered the young boy to offer his few loaves and fish, which Jesus then used to feed thousands. It's what allowed the Samaritan woman to leverage her redemption story to spark a revival in her village. It's what freed the disciples to abandon their fishing nets and businesses to follow Jesus without hesitation.
At its essence, leverage flows from two foundational truths: First, your identity is not rooted in what you do for God but in who you are in Christ. Second, everything you have - your gifts, education, resources, pain, heartbreak - is from God and for God. When you operate from that mindset of making your whole life an offering, that is when the leverage happens.
Leverage means showing up fully in your neighborhood, school, or workplace as an ambassador of Christ's love and truth, and not compartmentalizing your faith. It involves being intentional about your relationships and the influence you hold. It means allowing your struggles and suffering to soften you rather than harden you, so that your brokenness can point people to the Healer. It’s looking at the world around you and considering where you can bring beauty to the ugliness and a bit of light to the darkness.
The path of leverage isn't one of striving or manufacturing results through self-effort. It's a journey of trusting God more fully with who you are and what you have. It is an ongoing process of becoming aware of everything He has entrusted to your care - your personality, talents, wealth, platform, family, community - and asking "God, what do you want to do with this?"
So embrace the posture of availability today. Wake up and simply say, "Here I am, Lord. All of me is available for all of You." Then look expectantly for how He might want to leverage your ordinary life for His extraordinary purposes. Your willing presence is what unlocks His awesome leverage.
Reflection
What areas of your life are you holding back or withholding from God's purposes?
How can you embrace more of a "Here I am, Lord" posture of availability in your daily life?
Further Practice
Spend 5-10 minutes in stillness, breathing deeply, and simply saying "Here I am" to reorient your heart to radical surrender.
Prayer
Father, I offer myself as a living sacrifice - all that I am and all that I have is available for Your purposes. Help me embrace the posture of radical availability so You can leverage my ordinary life for Your extraordinary Kingdom. I'm here, Lord, use me.
This Sunday, July 14th, our church will practice a Sabbath Sunday. On this day, our church does not gather at any of our campuses, but instead, we encourage each other to take time to intentionally stop, rest, and delight! We’ve created a Sabbath Preparation Guide to help you plan for this rhythm of rest, including specific ideas for families. We also have a Devotional Experience if you’d like additional content for your day. To find our resources for this Sabbath Sunday, you can head to www.portcity.church/summer. We look forward to seeing you at one of our gatherings the following Sunday, July 21st.