- Lamentations 3:22-23
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I've never been a morning person, in fact, I'll do all I can to avoid being awake before 9am. I used to have a job where I had to be at work by 8, and it was always a joke among my co-workers that I could walk and talk and function in my sleep, because it wasn't until after 10am that I'd turn to the others in my cubical and say: "Good morning!" and begin to interact with them. Before that, I just did my work in quiet isolation, and people knew not to bother me.
Since becoming a Mom, most of my mornings start much, much earlier than I would like. Not only do I awaken before the sun most days, I am also disrupted, my private isolation is broken into, as children want to talk, need help, need direction, need quieting. The girls spring out of bed at dawn, ready to start the day as loud as they can, and I just want to find a hole somewhere and bury myself in it where it will be dark and quiet.
Because of this interruption to my natural flow, mornings are often difficult for me. Andrew has learned this, and since he's so great whatever time it is, often he'll take over and allow me to escape, and quietly get myself ready until I am willing to face the world. He'll bring me my juice and breakfast, and do all he can to slowly break me in to the new day. Every time he does this, he helps me hold onto my joy. He helps me hold onto my good mood, which helps me to see the beauty of a new day.
Yes, early mornings are almost doable, when someone you love is waiting for you, taking care of you.
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All joking aside, have you ever thought about Jesus waiting for you in the morning? There are quite a few verses in scripture about God's mercies in the morning:
"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You." - Psalm 143:8
"For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." - Psalm 30:5
"Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress." - Isaiah 33:2
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Morning, is of course, symbolic of a new beginning, but often it was in the literal morning dawn that God provided for His people. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, their manna, or bread, was provided in the mornings:
"Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away." - Exodus 16:21
And often when David prayed, he would rest knowing that God would hear him and deliver him in the morning:
"In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly." - Psalm 5:3
And lastly, it was in the morning that Christ was glorified in raising from the dead:
"The Day of Rest was over. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They wanted to put the spices on Jesus’ body. Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the grave. The sun had come up. They said to themselves, “Who will roll the stone away from the door of the grave for us?” But when they looked, they saw the very large stone had been rolled away. They went into the grave. There they saw a young man with a long white coat sitting on the right side. They were afraid. He said, “Do not be afraid. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth Who was nailed to a cross. He is risen! He is not here! See, here is the place where they laid Him." - Mark 16:1-6
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I make note of this, because for something to be symbolic and literal so much through scripture, it must be important for God.
I've often thought about the rising and setting sun being the same every day. It is one constant that we know will always happen. On every new day, the sun will rise, and on every ending day, the sun will set. This is a promise that God has set in motion, and we all rely on this happening. We literally set our clocks to it, as they say.
The security we have knowing the sun will rise every morning, is the same security we have that God will be present with each sunrise, waiting for us, and working for our benefit. He is constant like the sun, the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, that is our hope.
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I may not be a morning person, but knowing that my God is waiting for me, makes getting out of bed in the morning worth it.
He has a brand new day waiting for us, where He will reveal His love to us in a new way, where He will answer our prayers, where He will help us with struggles, where He will prove His faithfulness again, and again.
Get up & go this morning, and see what God has waiting for you.
Thank you, Michelle.
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