A Great Way To Start Your Day

How is your day going so far? Most of you get my posts about mid-day. But whether you receive them in the morning or at noon, you’ve still lived some of your life already today. So, how ya’ doin’? To what have you given yourself in the first hours of your day? Food? TV News? Coffee? Sports? (After all, it is March Madness) Work? Children? Pets? Exercise? God? How does your “Christian” morning differ from the vast number of non-Christian mornings out there? I know some “Christians” whose first word of the day come from Fox News not from the Word, Jesus Christ. What did Jesus actually mean when He taught us to “seek first” His Kingdom and righteousness? What you do with the first minutes of your day say much about your spiritual life and relationship with God. 

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Would you be interested in a quiet and simple start to your day? What would it take for that to happen? It would be different of each of you. For some, you’d need to awake before the children awake. For others, you’d have to break the habit of inviting noise into your morning. Others would need to find a morning rhythm that included being with God. It is possible to change your morning habits into patterns of life-giving routines that set the pace for your whole day.

I really can’t think of any legitimate excuse that prevents you from showing up in the morning to be with God. If you want to badly enough, you’ll do it. If it matters to you enough, you’ll figure out a way to make it happen. If you have issues with God, the best way to deal with them is to spend time with Him talking about it. 

You’ll discover that God is not the problem. He faithfully waits. He loves to spend time with His children. He’s not the issue.

In fact, God is faithful, by whom you were called into the communion of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1.9). You are called to be in communion with the Trinity. You are called to live in union with the Father, Son, and Spirit. You are called to be one with the Triune God (John 17.20-16). It is what Jesus prayed for. 

You are called to commune with the Father and the Spirit as Jesus does. What you do with your mornings is an indication of your willingness to answer His call.

This time with God is crucial due to three realities that come with your calling:

1. The enablement of the Holy Spirit. You are really guided and empowered by the life of the Spirit within as you die to yourself. 

2. The life of Jesus Christ in you. You possess the life of Jesus and live that life as you participate in the life of Jesus.  

3. The grace and other virtues of the Trinity flowing within you. These are God’s uncreated energies working in you as you participate in them.  

It’s simple because all you need is provided for you. Difficulty comes into play when you don’t take advantage of what’s been provided. 

You see, this journey of living out your calling is a synergistic process – “syn” = with, “ergo” = work. God works in you; you work in God. He and you do this together with one another. He doesn’t do all the work and you passively do nothing. Nor do you work hard apart from him. God and you work together like a hand in a glove. 

It couldn’t be more simple. Yet it is not easy. 

At minimum, you’ve got to wake up and show up. God doesn’t force Himself on you. You draw near to Him and He draws near to you (James 4.8). 

Giving yourself to God in the morning is a prime opportunity to enter into all He has for you and to live in it all day long. 

And there’s no better time to start than this morning…or tomorrow morning. 

How are you spending your first minutes of the morning? How are you able to enter into what God has provided for you? Share your thoughts below. 

Dr. K