Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Good Morning, Lord

PSALM 5:3 – O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”

She said to me, “I am just not a morning person. It is not my best time of the day.” I get that. Some people function better late at night. Others seem to be energizer bunnies long before the sun dots the eastern sky. Yet, all of us whether early risers or midnight oil burners, need to heed the instruction in today’s scripture as well as the pattern modeled by our Lord Jesus. It is learning to discipline ourselves to meet God in the morning before we meet the people and tasks of our day. Not only do we find this exemplified in the Psalms, particularly with David, but it was a regular practice with our Lord Jesus. We read – And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed (Mark 1:35). We know it was a regular practice with our Lord because prayer was a regular practice with Him. So, whether a morning or night person, all of us may give God our attention at the crack of dawn whenever that is. And there are benefits of doing so.

First, starting our day with the Lord reminds us of our dependency upon Him as our protector and provider. We are going to encounter challenges each day with the power to overwhelm us with stress, worry, anxiety, and irritability. Welcome to life in a fallen world. Welcome to the reality of our remaining sin. By giving our attention to the Lord we are able to arm ourselves with fresh mercies, fresh supplies of grace, and be spiritually prepared to enter the arena of spiritual warfare against our foes of the devil, world, and flesh (Lamentations 3:22-24).

Another benefit of entering our day with the Lord is the message of love we send to Him. As we direct our time, affections and attention to Christ before we direct it toward the things and people of the world, we are telling Him, “You matter most in my life. I love you and will prove it by giving You what You want first and most from me this morning–my heart which means my life.

A third blessing or benefit of meeting the Lord early in the morning is the self-discipline it will build in our lives. If we consistently bring ourselves under control, refusing to let the screams of the world and the voices of demands upon our persons grab center stage in our mornings, this practice of self-discipline will spill over in all other areas of our spiritual lives. It will positively impact our prayer lives, faithfulness to church, zeal in service, and consistency in our Bibles. All require self-control, self-denial, and self-discipline. And learning to make meeting the Lord the morning’s uncompromising first priority will develop all three in our lives.

Good morning, Lord. Sounds like a great prayer to offer as the first thing from our hearts and mouths as we start each new day He gives us. And in doing so, it will make all the difference in many areas of our lives.

PRAYER: “Father, help me start my day with thoughts of You, the seeking of You, and fellowship with You in Your Word.”

QUOTE: “Starting the day with the Lord tells Him what grabs your affections and gets your attention.”

Because of Him,

Pastor Jim