“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33).
I am a total morning person. I wake up with energy and focus and clarity. I bound out of bed and start the coffee brewing ready to face the day. I just know a great day is before me!
I usually do whatever it takes in order to pray very first thing. I may have to get up early to pray. Other times I get things set out the night before so that I can quickly get my children out the door to preschool in the morning and then start my time with God.
I am normally extremely purposeful about bringing God the Morning Jess. Because the Morning Jess is the one who will actually be coherent with God. (Note: if I were an Evening Jess, I would pray in the evening. Hello? How about not being legalistic? I mean, seriously.)
This morning I decided to bring my best Morning Jess to…..my blog!! Oh, yes! “God,” I said, “I have this great idea for a post. So… maybe I should write it before I spend time in the Word or Prayer. I’ll be quick, Lord. Then I’ll pray.”
I heard no firm voice of rebuke so I embarked on my plan.
I settled into my chair with my IPod and my coffee. I opened up a blank Word document. I started to write. I wrote two sentences. I stopped.
Oh, yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.
It was horrible. Absolutely the worst EVER! I felt so empty and dry. All my ideas were gone. I didn’t care about my post anymore. I didn’t care about my blog, my funny story, or my emails. (Note to self: cancel Gmail and go back to a phone landline so that I don’t have a backlog of 46 emails to respond to.)
I just wanted Him.
I had to be with God. I needed His Word. Why did I think that I could try and get something done if I hadn’t first been with Him? I want everything I do in my life to flow out of my relationship with God. Everything. This means that I need to put my relationship with Him first and not allow myself to get distracted. I need to consistently put Him first and then go on with the rest of my life.
I slammed my computer shut and opened my Bible. “Oh, Lord,” I said, breathlessly, “I am here. Please come and fill me this day. Speak to me through Your Word. Show me my heart. I want to hear from You. I want to be with You, Jesus…”
Seeking Him first is a choice offered to me every day of my life. Every morning I can get up and do whatever it takes to find time to meet with my Savior. I want to bring Him the best I have and watch in awe as I realize the joy and freedom that comes from living a life saturated with the Presence of Christ.
Life or death, Morning Jess. What will I choose this day?
God, I adore you. Help me to seek You first, Lord. I pray that when I don’t, You would remove all ease in whatever I’m doing. God, I don’t want to live without soaking in Your Presence. Show me what that looks like in my life during this season. In your holy name, Jesus. Amen.
Great post. I don’t know if I’ve commented on here or not, but I’ve been a short-time reader.
I’m an “Evening Ronnica,” not a “Morning Ronnica.” My body reminds me of that for about the first 2 hours after I wake up.
Exactly what I needed today Jess. Thank you! I’m sending this to a friend of mine as well.
I too have begun seeking Him early in the day. I am a night person, but it says in His word to seek Him in the morning and I find that when I do, I have a much better morning with the kids. We nearly missed the bus, had lost shoes and notebooks, but they left with a smile on their faces because Mom had joy in her heart today. Thanks for the reminder.
Great post. I can relate.