In the morning the word of the LORD came to me: Ezekiel 12:8
When Pam and I were first married we started new rhythms. As I awakened, I would say to her, “Morning beautiful.” She would respond, “Morning glory.” A new day had arrived for us.
Own your mornings. There is a joy for those who have mastery of their time by controlling their mornings. I fully understand that some people do not function quickly when they arise, while others jump out of bed fully alert. Adjustments can be made for both that allow for morning glory.
Arising early places you in good biblical company. Abraham rose early in the morning (Gen 19:27, 22:3), Jacob rose early ( Gen 22:18) Moses rose early (Exodus 7:15, 8:20, 34:4), Joshua arose early (Joshua 3:1, 8:10), Jehoshophat rose early (2 Chronicles 20:20), David rose early (1 Samuel 17:20), and Jesus arose early ( Mark 1:35).
If you knew that 10,000 dollars was laying on your table for you at 5:00 am every morning but was gone by 5:15 am, would you sleep through it? Would you arise before everyone else? Would you go to bed earlier so that you would not snooze your alarm? Would you control the distractions of unimportance so that you could achieve your goal of accepting the money?
Disciplining your time for morning devotion is warfare. Our enemy the devil will do everything in his power to convince you that it really doesn’t work for you like it does for others. There is nothing that this world has to offer that compares to making a reconnection with God in the morning. His voice and presence remain special throughout your day.
Pastor David Cho of South Korea was asked if he would shorten his devotional time because of an incredibly full daily schedule. “No, I will not”, he replied. “I will arise 2 hours earlier, for I realize I will need much more help to make it through a busier day.”
Some guidance to get you started.
- Set your alarm for a specific time and back track your sleep time to accommodate
- Tell someone so that you have some accountability
- Have a bible reading plan in place…don’t try to wake up and figure it out
- Missing one day doesn’t mean you are a failure or that you have to jettison the whole project. Receive grace and keep going.
- Add a component of writing down what you think God is saying to you for the whole endeavor is to have an intimate God encounter.
- Memorize this verse and claim its promise as a reality for your life.
- The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. Isaiah 50:4
- A great journey takes time to arrive, but you pass a lot of places along the road. Give yourself the needed time to arrive at a healthy devotion time.
- Learn the art of listening. When we are quiet our inner thoughts shout for attention. Bring those thoughts back to listening for God’s voice.
- Have fun. Change routines to include good worship, sitting outside listening to the birds, or go for a walk. God’s desire to engage with you is even greater than yours.
Your Christian life will be stunted to some degree if you fail to master your time for drawing strength from time alone with God. No, it does not have to be in the morning, but that is one of the few times that you can fully control. Be consistent.
Don’t leave the money on the table. When we arrive in heaven, will there be a revelation of missed rendezvous with God? Ask God to help you meet with Him as you “awaken the dawn”.
Blessing Love y’all