I feel like every teenager can sleep in late, but when I turned 13, I never gained that ability. I don’t know how they do it, but I just CANNOT sleep in past 7:00, or maybe 7:30 if I’m really tired. I can’t nap very well, either.
I don’t know what it is, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve adopted more of a grandma schedule. I’m at least in bed by 9:30 most nights and asleep by 10:00. I used to tease one of my guy friends about having the sleep schedule of an old man, but it seems that I have it now, too.
My mom is definitely a morning person, and my dad is kind of one. All of that explains part of why I’ve turned into one, but, honestly, I love mornings so much now. I would rather get up earlier to live one more hour or to spend more time with Jesus then spend an extra hour in bed, sleeping.
But, I didn’t always feel this way. I promise. When I first started to wake up earlier and earlier, I was kind of frustrated, honestly. “I JUST WANT TO SLEEP IN ONE MORNING!” is exactly what I would think most days.
One day though, I saw a quote on Pinterest, of course, but, seriously, it changed my perspective on things. It said, “When you can’t sleep at night, have you ever thought maybe it’s God saying, ‘We need to talk, and you now have time.'”
I mean, I read my Bible most days, but a lot of times it was at the end of the day. Plus, by then I was so tired that I could hardly concentrate. I wasn’t giving God the time or the energy He deserved, and I probably never will be able to. At least, I’m taking steps though, right?
I feel like we ask God to fill our cup up and refresh us all the time, but we neglect to actually hand Him the cup.
It’s like if you had a bottle of orange juice in your hand, and someone came up to you, holding a cup in their hands. They then proceeded to ask you if you could please fill their cup with some of your delicious orange juice, but right after asking that, they ran away from you. Naturally, you would be a little confused. Who wouldn’t?
That weirdo just came up to you and told you how amazing your orange juice is, and then they ran away, acting like they didn’t need any.
Although that’s kind of a silly example, it’s sadly kind of what we do with God. We tell Him we need Him every moment, but afterward, we run the other direction while telling Him we can handle our days on our own.
We ask Him to refresh us and prepare us for the day, but we don’t give Him the time in the morning to do it.
I think mornings are an important time of the day to God. He wants to get us ready for the day ahead. He wants to hear from us then. He wants to show us His love, and He wants to speak His Truth into our eyes.
Because the truth is, as soon as you step out your door, you ARE going to be bombarded with so many lies, and the devil is going to tell you all the things you’re not.
But if we spend our first few minutes with God, if we talk to Him first, listen to Him first, we are going to stand a much better chance. Because our hearts and minds are going to be so full of truth, nothing else will be able to fit in there.
And if spending time with God in the morning means getting up an extra 20 minutes early for you, do it! It is SO, SO worth it!! I can’t even tell you how much God has done through my morning time with Him.
It will be hard at first, and every single excuse will sound amazing to you. If you stick to it, though, God will give you the strength to get through them.
Pray, dig into His Word, and praise Him.
Praise, prayer, and reading His word set the gospel in focus, and the gospel is what makes everything else clear.
Allow Jesus to tell you the truth before the devil can tell you lies, and listen to who He says you are before your enemy and the world can tell you who you are not.
Pray for protection, for your day, your friends and family, for you to be love and a light, for you to be gospel-focused, and anything else that you feel the need to pray for.
I challenge you: Starting tomorrow, spend 10-15 minutes and sit with your Savior. Spend time with Him before you spend time with anyone else. Utter praise to Him before you speak a word to anyone else. Lastly, Fill your mind with Truth before it’s filled with anything else.
If devotionals make it easier for you, then use a devotional. A lot of times, I go on She Reads Truth, and do one of theirs. They have so many amazing writers, and they come out with a new post EVERYDAY!!
If just choosing something every morning is more your speed, then do that! Personalize it to you! God wants to spend time with YOU, not you trying to be someone else.
He will speak when you truly seek Him! Wake up tomorrow and seek our loving Savior. He’s waiting right there for you.
Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.
Lamentation 3:21-26 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.