Early in the morning...
"But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress. " Psalms 59:16
There is something about the early morning and "meeting" with the Lord. It has always been my most favorite time to sit in His presence. I think what started it was many years ago when my late husband got up his usual time (around 6:00 AM) to get ready for work and he saw our son, who was a teenager by then in his room praying and reading scriptures at that early hour. My husband was an avid Bible reader, but would do his devotional time usually after dinner; and let's face it , how much can you really get out of reading the scriptures when you're tired with a full tummy? But what he saw our son doing that wee hour in the morning inspired and encouraged him to get up an hour earlier each morning and spend time not only reading the Bible, but really allowing God to meet with him.
What can I say...it had a rippling effect and before long instead of dragging my body out of bed around 6:30 to make my husband coffee, pack his lunch and see him off...I was getting up earlier to spend some time in God's presence. We each had our own meeting places. For some reason my husband found the bathroom to be his "sanctuary"...go figure, but it worked for him :-). Me...I loved sitting out on the back porch, no matter how cold it was. It just seemed like the right place to be early in the morning, with the birds singing and the sun slowly coming up over the horizon. I can feel Him in the quietness of the earth waking up to a new day. When I read the Bible it is like Him speaking directly to me, when I pray it is me speaking directly to Him. It's an invitation, for the Holy Spirit to come and sit with me a while. He reminds me of His Goodness and Mercy. I recount the times that He saved me from things that could have destroyed me, of times when I knew that He was there for me. Times when it has been lonely, but I KNEW that I was never alone.
My heart weeps for this world because what I see is a whole lot of people without Hope. To be hopeless is very sad. I know what it is like to feel as if there is no hope. As a young person before I met God for the first time...I thought a lot about ending it all by taking my life. And then there was that time as a young married woman, I did try to end my life. Thank God that I did not succeed, but it was very embarrassing in the ER trying to explain to the medical staff why I did what I did. When the words were coming out of my mouth they did not make sense "I give up and no longer want to exist"...no wonder they all looked at me like I was crazy. But I wasn't crazy... I just had no hope that things would get any better. And that is what being hopeless is...you feel as if your situation will never get better. What a lie! I believed that lie for a very long time, until one day, after a neighbor had been praying for me (unbeknownst to me) , that I surrendered my heart and life to Jesus Christ. Not only did I received Hope, but Peace and real Joy. And He is the only One that can restore your Hope and give you real Peace and Joy.
So my early morning times are very precious with Him, because not only did He save my life, He has rescued me time after time again and again. So many devastating moments and yet...He whispers " I am with you" Times when I have lifted my hands and said " I can not and will not go a step further because this thing is too hard"...He whispers "Yes you can because I am with you." Times when I've messed up big time and say to myself "I'm not worth it." And He whispers " You are worth it to Me" and I am reminded of His Sacrifice...for me...and you.
Yes those early morning times restore my strength in Him, it puts the gas in my spiritual tank so that I can get through the day with the assurance that I am not left alone to figure this journey out. He is my stronghold and refuge and He desires to meet with me. When I come early to meet with Him, He is already there, waiting and eager to listen , comfort, even chastise and most of all with love.
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:28-29
There is something about the early morning and "meeting" with the Lord. It has always been my most favorite time to sit in His presence. I think what started it was many years ago when my late husband got up his usual time (around 6:00 AM) to get ready for work and he saw our son, who was a teenager by then in his room praying and reading scriptures at that early hour. My husband was an avid Bible reader, but would do his devotional time usually after dinner; and let's face it , how much can you really get out of reading the scriptures when you're tired with a full tummy? But what he saw our son doing that wee hour in the morning inspired and encouraged him to get up an hour earlier each morning and spend time not only reading the Bible, but really allowing God to meet with him.
What can I say...it had a rippling effect and before long instead of dragging my body out of bed around 6:30 to make my husband coffee, pack his lunch and see him off...I was getting up earlier to spend some time in God's presence. We each had our own meeting places. For some reason my husband found the bathroom to be his "sanctuary"...go figure, but it worked for him :-). Me...I loved sitting out on the back porch, no matter how cold it was. It just seemed like the right place to be early in the morning, with the birds singing and the sun slowly coming up over the horizon. I can feel Him in the quietness of the earth waking up to a new day. When I read the Bible it is like Him speaking directly to me, when I pray it is me speaking directly to Him. It's an invitation, for the Holy Spirit to come and sit with me a while. He reminds me of His Goodness and Mercy. I recount the times that He saved me from things that could have destroyed me, of times when I knew that He was there for me. Times when it has been lonely, but I KNEW that I was never alone.
My heart weeps for this world because what I see is a whole lot of people without Hope. To be hopeless is very sad. I know what it is like to feel as if there is no hope. As a young person before I met God for the first time...I thought a lot about ending it all by taking my life. And then there was that time as a young married woman, I did try to end my life. Thank God that I did not succeed, but it was very embarrassing in the ER trying to explain to the medical staff why I did what I did. When the words were coming out of my mouth they did not make sense "I give up and no longer want to exist"...no wonder they all looked at me like I was crazy. But I wasn't crazy... I just had no hope that things would get any better. And that is what being hopeless is...you feel as if your situation will never get better. What a lie! I believed that lie for a very long time, until one day, after a neighbor had been praying for me (unbeknownst to me) , that I surrendered my heart and life to Jesus Christ. Not only did I received Hope, but Peace and real Joy. And He is the only One that can restore your Hope and give you real Peace and Joy.
So my early morning times are very precious with Him, because not only did He save my life, He has rescued me time after time again and again. So many devastating moments and yet...He whispers " I am with you" Times when I have lifted my hands and said " I can not and will not go a step further because this thing is too hard"...He whispers "Yes you can because I am with you." Times when I've messed up big time and say to myself "I'm not worth it." And He whispers " You are worth it to Me" and I am reminded of His Sacrifice...for me...and you.
Yes those early morning times restore my strength in Him, it puts the gas in my spiritual tank so that I can get through the day with the assurance that I am not left alone to figure this journey out. He is my stronghold and refuge and He desires to meet with me. When I come early to meet with Him, He is already there, waiting and eager to listen , comfort, even chastise and most of all with love.
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:28-29
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