It all began when I became more intentional about seeking the Lord and spending quality time with him. As I spent more time with him, he began to impress on my heart that he wanted me to wake up early to seek his face. He awakened in me a deep longing to fellowship with him before sunrise.
David expressed that same longing when he wrote, "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You..." (Psalm 63:1).
My life hasn't been the same ever since. I’ve become the better version of myself before sunrise. Why? Because I've already spent the first waking moments of my day in the presence of the Lord. The rest of my day feels different. It's not that life suddenly becomes perfect or trouble disappears. It's that my heart is already firmly planted in him before the storms of the day arrive.
Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." When my mind is fixed on him first, his peace follows me throughout the day.
People sometimes look at me and assume I probably have an easy breezy life. They see that I'm usually cheerful and in good spirits. What they don't see is where that peace comes from. It comes from starting my day with Jesus.
And I truly believe it's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself—starting your day with the Lord.
I'm not saying every day will automatically become easy. You'll still have responsibilities. You'll still face disappointments. You'll still encounter difficult people and unexpected challenges. But something changes when you've already been with God.
Everything becomes different—your perspective, your attitude, your responses.
When you read the Gospels, you'll notice that this was Jesus' pattern as well. "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). If the Son of God intentionally made room for uninterrupted communion with the Father before the demands of the day, how much more should we?
Can you meet with God at noon? Absolutely. At night? Of course. God is available every moment of every day. Yet there is something uniquely beautiful about those early hours when the world is still, the notifications haven't started, and the noise hasn't filled your mind yet. There's a stillness that makes it easier to hear his voice and simply enjoy his presence.
So if you've convinced yourself you're not a morning person, don't let that label keep you from what God may be inviting you into. I used to believe the same thing. Now I see those early hours as one of the greatest gifts God has given me.
You don't have to begin with long hours. Start with fifteen minutes. Start with thirty. Be consistent. Make room for him before you make room for everything else.
As David prayed, "Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You" (Psalm 143:8).
There's no better way to begin a day than in the presence of the One who already holds it!
#becomingavessel
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