Revelations in the New Born Day

I haven’t been doing my Miracle Morning routine for a while now, and it’s telling on me. In recent weeks it’s been hard for me to focus and get things done, especially in lockdown with everyone at home. It’s easy to get up and go into autopilot mode, letting the flow of the day just play things out as it sees fit. But I was never meant to be ruled by my day. Way back in Genesis 1:28 God told the man and the woman to have dominion over the earth and in 2 Corinthians 10:5 we’re told to bring all our thoughts to captivity to the obedience of Christ. I literally have to place my thoughts under arrest if I’m going to live my day in the will of God. So I need to be intentional with my morning. My morning becomes my day. My day becomes my Life.

It’s 5:46am as I type these words. I have to admit there have been too many times that I’ve ignored the call of God to wake up (literally and spiritually), but this morning I heard Him, clear as day, whisper to me that He had something to tell me, so I needed to get up. I got out of bed, and stumbled my way into my office, determined not to miss a word from God. I’ve been wanting to write to encourage you in the Lord, but first, I need to encourage myself, right? We are going through a tough time in the world. It isn’t easy to navigate this Life on our own. We need God’s guidance and protection to get through this in one piece. We need to be in a strong relationship with Him so we can lean into Him and be held up in His strength.

When two people are in love, they often seek out time to be alone together. It’s in these moments of quiet conversation that they reveal aspects of their personality to each other. Getting to truly know someone comes over time and over the course of many conversations. This is my “alone time” with God, when I seek Him through prayer, meditation and His word, the bible. I’ve recently started to take notes again, As I reflect on God’s revelation in the stillness of my morning, clarity comes, and a new focus, understanding and wisdom. Wisdom isn’t just knowledge - it’s the correct application of that knowledge. I want to walk, speak and live in wisdom. Mistakes are inevitable, as I am human, but they are fewer as I get closer to God and submit my thoughts and actions to the influence of His wisdom.

What I think becomes what I do. What I do becomes how I live. How I live dictates my future. Why place my future in uncertain hands by allowing the precious, impressionable moments of the beginning of my day to be touched by what Life wants to throw at me? When I first had my babies, I would stay in my room for most of the day. Although I was safe at home, I felt an overwhelming urge to protect them - from too much noise, light, germs…pretty much everything. And I needed time to adjust to the newness of it all. That’s how it is with our mornings.

Think of your day as a newborn baby - new and untouched by the world. It’s precious and vulnerable and needs to be protected. Your peace of mind, your productivity, your perspective, your purpose - they all need to be protected for you to live your day as God intended. You wouldn’t put your newborn baby to lay outside in the early morning, so why pick up your phone as soon as you wake up, or turn on the television, or start having conversations, not knowing how the day will respond? That’s like walking into battle unprepared. We have to get up and prepare for battle every day. The enemy has already worked out his strategy against you. He’s been working on it while you were sleeping. Don’t let him win as soon as the day begins.

If you’ve already checked all your social media sites and been on WhatsApp for an hour (or two), don’t fret. Your day isn’t a complete wash. Put your phone down when you’re done reading this and take some quiet moments to reflect or pray. You would be surprised how much a few moments with God can refresh your spirit. But that said, nothing beats that morning quiet time. It can’t be matched.

I encourage you to get up as early as you can and center yourself in the word and will of God. I heard Serita Jakes preach once that there comes a time in each of our lives when our cute little five-minute prayers won’t do for the some of the difficult situations we face. When I set aside my morning quiet time and pray my little heart out, I’m not telling God anything He doesn’t know. What I’m really doing is activating the faith required to keep me going so I can walk into the manifestation of the reality of His answer to my prayer. I expect God to answer my prayers. With that resolve, I can go about His business.

I like how Psalm 5:3 is interpreted in the NIV:

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
In the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.

Wait expectantly for God’s blessing today!