Welcome to our first devotional of the summer! I am so excited to be sharing with all of you! I have prayed over this devotional and I hope it blesses you as much as it has already blessed me! I have included several scripture verses, and you can click on each one to open the link so you can read it, although I highly encourage you to look at each one in your Bible and read it in context. I pray that you will find yourself on your own little scripture journey with God!
Ok... here we go!
Please read Psalm 104 to begin.
I have never considered myself a morning person. Since I was little, I've been referred to as a "night owl", and I've never minded staying up late, but I have a really hard time getting up early. I love how God can use people and circumstances to grow us in certain areas, because my husband IS a morning person, and He is very disciplined about it. He gets up every morning, spends time with God and exercises. He has always encouraged me to do the same, even though I mostly resist. Then when we had our first child, she always woke up between 6 and 6:30 am, so naturally I had to force myself to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. As my faith has grown, I have found many Biblical reasons to get up earlier. We see this in Proverbs 31, in the description of the virtuous and capable wife who stays up late AND gets up early. I have also learned from mature Christians I respect that quiet time in the morning with God is a great way to start off a day and stay in step with the spirit throughout the day (See Galatians 5:16).
There was a time in my life when I was really struggling, and I knew I needed to refocus and make sure God was my #1 priority. I gave up many things at that time in order to seek God, but one of the things I did was sacrifice sleep by waking up early before the kids to read my Bible and pray. It was something I knew I should've probably been doing for years, but I just REALLY wanted my sleep (selfishly). When I laid this down, and said, "God I choose you", it was incredible how my life began to transform. I was getting less sleep but my energy level multiplied! My focus became more Heavenly, and my days became less stressful and I was more clear-headed and full of joy. Not to mention, when I slept in I was missing the beautiful sunrise, the quiet coolness of the early hours, the soft melodies of the songbirds, the sparkle of the dew. God has given us so many gifts in the morning! Not only does God want us to remember that He is the Alpha and Omega (which means beginning and end - see Revelation 1:8), but He has also decorated the beginning of every day so beautifully that we can't help but be in awe of Him and His amazing wondrous ways. His mercies truly are truly new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)!
There are still days I don't want to get up early, but the days I don't, I usually feel it in my spirit. It's not so much that God commands us to get up in the morning, that it is just something that has blessed my life. The important thing is that God nudged me to put myself aside, and when I did - even in the smallest way - He showed me a whole new part of Himself that I would have never seen if I kept sleeping in. These things we can see with our eyes and hear with our ears remind us that our God is the God of the Universe. That everything good is from Him. God has provided us with so many blessings that remind us of who He is, and He certainly is worthy of praise. Let's all be aware of the beauty of God, and let us all live with an attitude of praise to our King Jesus. There may be something that God is nudging you to do, and although you don't want to, He may have something amazing for you if you just obey.
Father God, Thank you for your amazing, beautiful creation. May we always remember that you are the one God who created all of this beauty for us to enjoy. As the days are longer and we spend more time outdoors, may we allow these things to stir up our affections for you and draw us nearer to your presence and increase in us an attitude of praise. If there is anything that you are prompting us to do or not do, may you help us to hear your still, small voice and give us the courage to step out in faith and obey you. It may be something that seems insignificant, but you can do a lot with very little. We love you, we praise you, and we thank you. In Jesus' Holy & perfect name we pray, Amen.
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