Starting the Day in Wonder
This morning on my walk I looked up to see the moon in the sky. It was one of those moments when part of the moon appears transparent. I stood and looked at it for a while because I always wonder why it looks like that. The sky was clear. The air was crisp. As a teenager and even often as a younger adult I would sleep until noon when I could. What an absolute waste of this peaceful time of day when everything is just beginning to wake up and there are things in the sky that are waiting to be admired. I sense God's presence during those times. It is as if He created morning just so He could walk with me in the garden.
I remember as a teenager my two exasperated sisters trying to wake me up numerous times every morning. They would come in and beg me to get out of bed so we weren't late to school. They were the kind of girls who spent time on their appearance, and while we lived in the same house, I don't think they really knew me very well. It never took me longer than about ten minutes to ready myself for the school day. Probably another reason why I never had a date in high school. My hair was short and I didn't wear make up. I wore jeans and t-shirts every day and for the most part felt that nobody ever really looked at me. I went to school because I had to and because if I didn't I wasn't going to be on the softball team.
Looking back I wish that I had been more self-assured and less timid about who I was. I was an enigma to my mother, and just one of 7 mouths to feed to my father. Even now I still feel like the odd man out at times, not really fitting in to what people think I should be. These days I have learned to get up early and appreciate those things I overlooked for decades, like the dissolving moon and the sound of cicadas in the trees. I am still that same teenage girl inside, who isn't so involved in her outward appearance. I do try harder to prepare for every day. Somethings are just meant to be ordinary.
I am reminded about when Samuel went to anoint a new King over Israel. God sent him to the house of Jesse and after looking over 7 of David's brother's God reminded Samuel that while he looks at the outward appearance God looks at the heart. David was God's choice, not because he was tall, dark and handsome with a commanding presence. He had a heart for things of God. He had faith in his creator and that empowered him to be fearless. He knew His God personally and God honored that relationship and blessed David. He wasn't perfect. He made plenty of mistakes. He was ruddy in appearance, or healthy. Probably from all that fresh air!
This is one of those stories that pastors reference to remind us that the inward person, who we are when we are alone with our thoughts, is the one God is most concerned with. Taking time to walk and talk with God daily is what David did. I bet he was up early and stayed up late. He wrote songs about his love for God, and poured out his heart in praise as well as repentance. He questioned God about everything in life, but never doubted the omnipotence of his creator. That relationship is one God desires with all of us. It is in that relationship where He thrives and causes us to thrive and really become what He has designed us to be.
Imagine Jesus being up early and waiting for you to join him. What if you sleep in? Can you see him trying to wake you? I Imagine Jesus saying "Hurry, you are going to miss it!" Then later after I've overslept I imagine him saying, "You should have seen the sunrise this morning. I do believe it would have taken your breath away. Don't miss tomorrow. I've got something extraordinary planned." He doesn't judge me for not showing up. He is forgiving. But I know that when I miss, somehow my day just isn't the same. My focus is off, and it is like I have no energy for any of the days work. I'm empty. Imagine Jesus excited every morning to be with you and fill you up for the day!
When we see the Bible as a guide book for our spiritual walk with our creator, we have to wonder if the whole reason he picked David to be king was so that we would have that big-as-life reminder. The most important thing in life is to spend time with God and know His heart. This is where the power is. This is where the victory is. This is where the hope, the love, the joy, the acceptance and perfect peace of God is. We see throughout scripture this relational God, but no where more evident than in the lives of David and Jesus. Jesus' entire life was this - God became man walked among us to relate to us so that He could redeem us to Himself and we could return to that coveted relationship that man destroyed centuries ago. It's simply amazing.
So don't miss the next sunrise, or sunset, or thunderstorm, or sunny cloudless day. The best relationships are those that are cultivated and cherished on a daily basis. Be a child of God who walks with God and knows His heart. You are royalty. It is time to learn how to act like it! A child of the King of Kings must know the heart of the King and behave accordingly.
1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God does not see as man sees, since man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
1 John 4:9 "By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him."
Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years."
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