Mornings
Mark 1:35 says: “Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark… He went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
We find this curious pattern from Jesus scattered throughout all the gospels. I say “curious.” because Jesus was sinless. His trust in the Father was perfect. You could ask—why did he do this? The crowds were gathering. There were people who needed healing, unbelievers who needed believing.
If Jesus was one with the Father (John 10:30) and was with him before the foundation of the world (John 17:24), then surely during his brief three-year earthly ministry, there could be a better use of the time, instead of rising before the sun came up to spend more time with the Father, with whom he’s already spent an eternity past with. That is such an American way of thinking, isn’t it? We tend to measure time by visible productivity.
We are not sinless. Our trust in the Father is not perfect. We are needy in every way— physically, spiritually, emotionally. If the perfect Son withdrew to be alone with the Father, how much more should we?
Church, my exhortation is this. Who gets the first moments of your day?
For many, it’s a phone. It’s easy to reach over and grab it from the nightstand. Check the messages, the emails, the news, the weather, and Facebook. All of which, while screaming for our attention, puts us into a morning mode of reaction.
For others, our morning evaporates into a frantic routine of teeth brushing, clothes dressing, and coffee making, with just enough spare time to hit the commute or the first work Zoom call.
Still, some don’t choose when they wake up at all, because a tiny human does that at any given, unanticipated hour. But regardless of the scenario, the Bible repeatedly draws attention to the morning.
Psalm 5 “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”
Psalm 90 “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
Psalm 59 “I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.”
Psalm 88 “But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.”
Psalm 143 “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Friends, when you are a child, God, these longings are planted in you too; whether you’ve exercised them or not, they are there.
Church, redeem the morning. Guard it carefully. The storms of life are coming. For some, they are already here. Where is your storm shelter?
This may mean practical changes like charging your phone in another room. This might mean going to bed earlier the night before and setting a new alarm. Men, this might mean rising first in the house so that you can take the baby and give your wife some time with the Lord. What a gift.
I know that an hour may not be possible. But how about thirty minutes? Or twenty? What about ten? Could you spare five minutes of prayer; five minutes of Bible reading? Before you reach for anything else, before you even speak to anyone, make your thankfulness known to Him because He’s given you one more day in His service. And then allow the Lord to speak to you from His Word.
We don’t seek him in the morning to become more efficient Christians. We seek him because apart from him, we have no refuge. And what a glorious refuge he is!
Let’s have a silent moment now, confessing the many ways we fill ourselves in the mornings with other things as if we are functionally independent from God.
