What Are You Willing To Camp Out For?

A few years ago, a Chick-fil-A opened up in Murfreesboro and they ran that “First 100” promotion. The first 100 adults through the doors at 6 a.m. would get free Chick-fil-A for a year, basically a free meal every week. So people did what people do when something is on the line. They showed up early, brought lawn chairs and blankets, and camped out overnight in the parking lot. The news story said the line hit 100 people by around 6 p.m. the night before, and everybody just settled in to wait for morning.

Quick confession: I am not a Chick-fil-A superfan. I know some people love the Lord’s chicken deeply. I’m more like, “I’ll eat it if it’s in front of me.” But I respect the commitment. That takes, “I want this enough that I’m going to rearrange my entire evening to be there when the doors open.”

And it got me thinking about what we are actually willing to show up early for. What we will build our schedule around. What we refuse to miss.

Simeon didn’t miss Jesus. Luke tells us in chapter 2 that the Holy Spirit was upon him, had revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before seeing the Messiah, and then led him into the temple at exactly the right moment. But here’s the thing: Simeon was ready because he had spent his whole life positioning himself to be in God’s presence. He was righteous and devout. He was consistently, faithfully in the right place. And when the Spirit said go, he went.

The people who don’t miss Jesus are the people who keep showing up. You don’t stumble into that kind of readiness. You build your life around it.