Wake-up Call

I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.

Psalm 35:14

Sometimes my emotions overwhelm me. Today, for instance, my sadness over missing my mother still lingers. After spending time talking with the Lord in prayer and listening for His messages to me, I opened His Word to today’s verse. When I saw that it was Psalm 35:14, I felt like I had been followed . . . followed by God through His Word.

God sees me and He pursues me! He understands the emotional weights I carry, and He wants to let me know that He is always with me. That verse felt like a big holy hug. In fact, it felt as close to a physical hug as I could experience from Him this side of heaven.

I love it when God surprises me with gifts of truth, like this verse was for me today. It came straight from God’s heart to let me know He sees my heart. His surprises are why I want to greet Him first thing in the morning. I don’t want to go the whole day without hearing Him and miss something because I get preoccupied with so many other things.

For over a quarter century, I have rearranged my day to “hear” Him first through the pages of the Bible. Because I listened this morning, I enjoyed His gift throughout the day. My heart gained courage and I felt genuine joy instead of feeling weighed down by grief all day.

God is so personal, so real, and He will speak to us any time of day. But there is something precious and extra helpful about committing our early minutes to Him before everything else begins to pull us in different directions. When we go to Him first, He asks that we trade in our emotions for a confident faith in Him to deal with whatever we will face.

Let’s not miss Him or anything He has for us! Take to heart Psalm 5:3 (NKJV): “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.” Treat yourself to an earlier bedtime tonight so you can wake up a little earlier to begin the day with Him.