On Mornings, Part 2
cultivate a lifestyle of getting up early
A Plan (entirely optional):
FAITH
pray
Pray about your sleep. Pray before you fall asleep. Ask the Lord to give you deep, restful, & refreshing sleep. Ask Him to awake you when He wills. Ask Him for energy. Ask Him to change your attitude. Ask Him about your goals & plans. Ask Him to give you insight.
BE EXPECTANT
Believe with all that you’ve got He will answer. Watch to see what He will do. Expect to need Him. Expect Him to be enough. Expect to grow as you face challenges. Expect to repent. Expect to experience grace.
WORK
start your morning in the evening
Tidy the house. Prepare your food. Lay out your clothes. Know your schedule. There is certainly a mentality that our evening can set the tone for the following morning.
GROWTH
cultivate a lifestyle
If you seek to follow Jesus in a radical way: Think through the daily, weekly, & quarterly rhythms that help you experience God in a way that is life giving for YOU. There are no rules. There is no checklist. We don’t have to seek Him; we get to seek Him.
Examples:
Daily. Prayer Journal. Bible Reading Plan.
Weekly. Listen to a worship album. Quiet Reflection.
Monthly. Day away with God to get vision.
just a start
If you’re someone who actively takes next steps, your choices aren’t necessarily between right & wrong. They’re between good & better. Your next decisions are just a start. Reminder: Any decision you make, you can unmake & remake.
INTENTION
refuse to snooze
There’s something special about waking up in the morning. It demonstrates passion that is excited about the possibilities for the day — you can’t imagine sleeping in.
Consider the sunrise. Appreciate the miracle of a day for what it is. Allow life to slow down. Be reminded of the Lord’s majesty & faithfulness. Reflect. Strategize. & put on Christ so you can face the challenges & opportunities of the day.
your best time may not be in the morning
Your time with the Lord may not be in the morning, & it doesn’t have to be. But if you’re struggling to find the time, it’s there. The morning is always open. The evening is always open. And it just might change your life. Isn’t that what we all want?
heart encouragement —
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, & walking-around life—& place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, & quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.