"In the morning, when I rise..."
"Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul." // Psalm 143: 8
In order to shine with the light of Jesus, you have to seek Him first. And, if I'm being honest, that is one of the hardest things to do.
Don't get me wrong, once you sit down and actually start spending time with Him; it's as easy as breathing. Spending time with Him is what our souls were designed to do. Talking to our Creator, reading His Truth, living in communion with Him - we were literally made to do those things. So once you start, it's like an eagle finding her wings. Maybe a little shaky at first, but then... it's time to soar.
I think it's just the idea of actually sitting down with the intention to seek Jesus that scares us. It really intimidates me to think about chatting with the Creator of the Universe. 'What if I don't know what to do or say or think or pray? What if I don't feel like He's with me? What if I look weird? What if I get distracted? What if...' And by the time all those questions cycle through, I get too distracted and just forget, or worse, I let fear keep me from doing what my soul is so ready to do, what my soul was made for.
So, what do we do? How do we get over our fears and just jump in? I saw a quote on Instagram the other day that said, 'The best way to get something done is to begin.' (It really hit me hard because, at the time, I was scrolling through Insta instead of editing a wedding video I'd been putting off for weeks.)
I'm not saying that seeking the Lord is just something to "get done," but I do think the quote applies. Basically, we've got to stop questioning and worrying and waiting to "get good at it" before we start.
Let's just begin. Grab a Bible and a journal and a pen. Open it up to the New Testament (or Psalms, Proverbs, Ephesians, wherever), read it, and then sit quietly and reflect on it. Pray. Ask God to help us understand. Ask Him to heal our hearts and minds and bodies and the hearts, minds, and bodies of those we love and those around the world who are suffering. Like I said, I am so guilty of just avoiding spending time with Him because it seems like the easier option. But the times when I've pushed fear out of the way and pulled up a chair in God's living room - those times were the absolute best. And I can honestly say that once I started, my soul knew what to do.
Psalms offers so much encouragement in the way of seeking Jesus.
"Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul." // Psalm 143:8
"In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning, I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." // Psalm 5:3
I think those two, sweet little verses give us perfectly practical advice for how to begin.
1. Trust. Trust that He is always waiting and watching for you and longs for you to pull up a seat and sit a spell. Trust that your soul knows what it is doing. When you speak those prayers or read those sacred words, your soul will rejoice.
2. Speak. Use your voice to speak to Him. Bring your fears, doubts, cares, concerns, praises, and thanks to His throne.
3. Listen. Sit quietly and wait. Don't be afraid of the silence, what you will or will not hear. Just know that silence creates the space to hear.
4. Wake Up. Yep. Set your alarm for just a little earlier - 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. I don't think it's a coincidence that these verses (and lots more) specifically say, "in the morning." In the morning... before our minds and bodies get bogged down with to-do lists. Before we get distracted by emails and social media. Before our families get up and the house is actually quiet for a couple minutes. It makes so much more sense to spend time with Jesus before getting into all the craziness. How wonderful to be filled with His peace and joy before we start making our way through the day instead of guilt-ily trying to cram it in at the end of said day? It may seem like a few more minutes in bed are what we need, but I think we both know it's Jesus.
Let's start the day by seeking instead of scrolling. Let's sit with our Creator and trust that time with Him never turns up empty.
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Need a little more motivation? Turn up the volume, and listen to this.