At the Start of Day

 A friend recently asked me what discipline I found most helpful to live a productive life.  It caused me to think.  My schedule is not rigidly regimented and never has been.  I have always had to make choices about how I would spend my time.  But, as I reflected, it seemed clear to me that there is one discipline that has made more difference than any other: rising early for meditation, prayer ands devotion.

 How we start the day has a lot to do with how we live it and how we end it. In fact, the way we start each day may change the entire trajectory of our life

 This was not always true for me. In my youth I tended to jump out of bed and rush off to some pressing business or activity without taking time to be quiet, to find a focus on God, to memorize and ponder Scripture and to pray.  But at some point, thirty or more years ago, I made a decision to get up early, often before sunrise, to spend time alone with God.

 Of course, there have been days I could not do this: illness, an early morning flight, children and grandchildren up before dawn requiring care. But most days, I have protected this time. I don’t always feel God’s presence in these moments. There are days when I feel I am all alone, reading Scripture, meditating and praying, as if God isn’t around. There are other times He seems to whisper in my ear. During the dry times I find it necessary to persevere, not to give up.  He will make His presence known in due time, and it is not all about how I feel at the moment. Sometimes I might be like Nathanael who had no idea Jesus was watching when he sat beneath the fig tree, (John 1:48).

 Jesus was well known for this habit.  “And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed, (Mark 1:35). At first, his disciples could not understand it. They went in search of Him. (Mark 1:36).

 The Psalms emphasize the importance of this early morning hour: “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days,” (Psalm 90:14). “I will awaken the dawn! I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. ⁴ For Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the skies,” (Psalm 108:2-4).

 C.S. Lewis wrote, “The real problem of the Christian life comes where people usually do not look for it.  It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.  And the first 's each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.”

Bill's book, Upon This Rock is free March 8-12 as an eBook on Amazon.  click the imate to the right, or go to tinsleycenter.com.