PSALM 90:14 – Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
THEME OF THE DAY. GOOD MORNING, LORD. In today’s scripture, the Psalmist models for us a great way, even the best way, to start each morning; seeking the Lord and the satisfaction coming from tasting and savoring His Presence and steadfast love. Now before anyone deletes me with the thought, “I am just not a morning person. This doesn’t apply to me”, please give me a little time to maybe persuade you to reconsider that statement. Granted, each of us are wired differently. Some people don’t function well in the morning while others are early risers ready to hit the day running long before lights are on throughout our neighborhoods. And today’s nugget is not a criticism of non-morning people by an obsessively-driven morning person. But what I do want all of us – morning and evening folks – to do is consider how important, even necessary, for our spiritual health and preparation for each day, is to start it with the Lord before we start it with other people and the myriad things we must do. It is a very good practice to start the day with the Lord as our first priority for a couple of reasons.
First, by starting the day in prayer and the Word seeking the face of God we are reminded where life is truly oriented and what life is truly about. If we rise in the morning, after hitting the snooze button a couple of times, and rush into our days without spiritual preparation, we will quickly lose sight and touch with what are the true realities of life. And what are those realities? They are stated by the Apostle Paul – For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Friends, the things we do in this physical world; the things we see all around us; and the things we let consume our lives are temporary and fleeting. This world is not the real world. Yes, it is real in that we see it, touch it, and live in it, but the real world is the unseen eternal. Strive to remember we are eternal beings living in a temporary physical world. This is not all there is by far. And if we don’t start the day with our minds and heart oriented in the real world, the eternal, and seeking to know Him who is eternal life, we will quickly lose sight of eternal realities and drift into “spiritual amnesia.” The result will be worldliness and eventually a backslidden life.
Another reason to start the day with the Lord is what the Psalmist realized – true satisfaction, even gladness of heart, comes from beholding and experiencing the steadfast love of the Lord – Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. If we neglect Him, we are setting ourselves up for lives lived in discontent, dissatisfaction, irritability, impatience, and a host of other “worldly uglies” that make life nothing more than a “drag” and joyless experience. But if we start the day with Him, we get strength, joy, satisfaction, and direction to live the only day we have – today. This reason alone should make us morning people – we need time with Him to prevent a heart soured by the world’s attitudes.
In closing, let me encourage the “non-morning people” out there. This doesn’t require getting up at 4:00 a.m., and spend three hours in prayer and the Word. It isn’t a matter of time. It is a matter of priorities. And here is a good motivator to give God morning time. He wants you. He wants to spend time with you and satisfy the longings of your heart with Himself. That alone is enough to meet Him before we meet other people and the demands in our lives screaming for our attention.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to discipline my life to start each morning seeking Your face before I seek anything else.”
QUOTE: “Start the day with the Lord, not only will it start the day right, but He deserves the first priority of each day.”