SEEK ME EARLY ROSS SMITH
I am convinced that the time spent with the Lord sitting and listening in the early morning, creates a reservoir of “stillness” to accommodate the rest of the busyness and business of the day. The duration is not the criteria, but it is of consequence when we are learning to “BE STILL AND KNOW”. As we develop this spiritual aptitude the time spent will improve in quality and accrue the growth that Psalm 46:10 promises “AND KNOW I AM GOD”.
This “STILLNESS” is not, as previously stated, a period or time of indolence or lassitude, but a time of bringing our whole being under the control of the Holy Spirit, a time when we dispense with all the distractions before we embark on a daily schedule.
The Word of God supports this premise, firstly by a very wise man and secondly by a very prominent Prophet, so the behaviour pattern is recommended:-
Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Isaiah 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Did these men have some special nature that enabled them to enunciate so clearly their intentions to meet with their Lord in the “rosy-fingered dawn”? I don’t think so, they just realised that they needed a discipline and an obedience that overcame their proclivity to pander to the flesh and linger in their bed, whilst the Lord was waiting in anticipation to share His heart with them
If you are of the opinion that this behaviour pattern is easily attained, then you will “repent” after you have established the principle, it requires much self-denying effort. But the reward is immeasurable, that sense of God’s presence, the awareness of the cycle of creation heralding a new day, the birds assembling in an ensemble to deliver their chorale, the heady fragrance of the fresh morning, the dawn fingering the dark, devoid of the intrusion of commerce.
What constitutes early? For some it is before the sunrises, for others, it may be when the sun is high in the eastern sky. What does Scripture nominate as “early”, remembering that in Bible days there were no such things as watches or clocks? “Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day.”
Mark 1:35 And in the morning, LONG BEFORE DAYLIGHT, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.
Notice
- that Jesus, sought a solitary place – far away from the world and even from his disciples.
- that it was early in the morning – always the best time, and a time when it should not be omitted.
- if Jesus sought time to be “still”, how much more important is it for us!
Luke 6:12 Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and SPENT THE WHOLE NIGHT in prayer to God.
I see that there could be a twofold purpose in this event, firstly because of the task awaiting him in the morning, that of appointing 12 disciples to carry on the dispensing of the gospel, and secondly, the time spent in prayer and stillness was required to obtain the mind and the endorsement of Father. The Lord Himself spent time in prolonged communion with His Father in preparation for the solemn appointment of those men who were to give birth to His Church, and from whom the world in all time was to take a new mould. Jesus probably spent the night in prayer because he knew that he would busy during the day. How instructive is this! Here is another example of the effectiveness of our spiritual experience in those hours not molested by mundane task.
Genesis 32:24 And Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until daybreak.
Hosea 12:4 Yes, he had power over the Angel [of the Lord] and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He met Him in Bethel, and there [God] spoke with [him and through him with] us-
Scripture abounds with references to early morning encounters to encourage us to adopt a similar procedure.
Genesis 19:27 Abraham went up early the next morning to the place where he [only the day before] had stood before the Lord.
Psalm 5:3 In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalm 63:6 When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.
Psalm 90:14 O satisfy us with Your mercy and loving-kindness in the morning [now, before we are older], that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
It is important to note that we cannot “be still and know” as found in Psalm 46:10 until we comply with the first statement “Let be”, and for clarity on this statement we refer to:-
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, FORGIVE HIM AND LET IT DROP (LEAVE IT, LET IT GO), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.
We can be recognised as “Knowing God” when we carry the serenity of His nature, of “being still”. Just the same way, we can be recognised as being “Wise” when we are able to evidence Wisdom, His ethos, all eight characteristics. (James 3:17)
Psalm 85:10 Mercy and loving-kindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth requires Righteousness — Mercy calls for Peace.
“Solitude” is different to “Solitary” and neither are “Stillness” as required by Psalm 46:10. The first two terms suggest some ISOLATION whereas the “Stillness” promised to us will serve its purpose of INSTIGATION through the busiest day. Have you noticed that the on seller of fine produce such as fruit and vegetables, visit the market very early in the morning up so that he may obtain the choicest and freshest?
Father has promised us His compassions “New every morning”, (Lamentations 3:21-22) and so it is concluded that we should engage with the Lord EARLY so that He can dispense to us the “great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness” promised in this scripture.
Another telling example of early morning activity relates to the Israelites who were the beneficiaries of the manna supplied to them six days of the week, but they had to gather it early in the morning.
Exodus 16:21 They gathered it (manna) every morning, each as much as he needed, for when the sun became hot it melted.
A similar thing happens to us as happens to the manna if we do not get to spend the early hours with the Lord, as the busyness of the day progresses, as the heat is applied, we will melt!
Exodus 16:21 shows that they had to gather their daily bread first thing in the morning, before the sun got hot, or their opportunity literally melted away. God’s bread is best gathered early in the day, when we first arise, when we and the manna are at its freshest. Sometimes, we intend to study later in the day, or in the evening, and what happens? Other things interfere and crowd out the Word of God—and an opportunity to show God He has first place in our life simply melts away, just like manna allowed to sit in the heat of the sun.
To show God we are serious about putting Him first in our lives, perhaps we need to quit doing the things that inordinately eat up our time. God will not just slide into first place. We must consciously put Him there. We must make this decision every day of our lives.
God will not accept second or third place in our lives, and He expects us to decide and act accordingly. There is no retrospectivity in our progress in God, it requires that we approach each day with His goals firmly in focus, and dispensing with the burdens of yesterday, because that time can never be recovered no matter how honorable were our intentions, how graphic our failures, how cosmic our successes, today is dedicated to glorify Him.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you THIS DAY whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
The record of Peter’s denial of the Lord sharply focuses on the time aspect, and Peter, to his ultimate disgust, found that the early morning was a very telling time.
Luke 22:34 But Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, before a [single] cock shall crow this day, you will three times [utterly] deny that you know Me.
I was always comforted as a small child, waiting for the dark of the night to dissipate and for the morning to hasten, and when the local roosters began to crow, I could emerge from the fear of the dark and gather courage for the day, for I knew dawn was about to break.
Science says that the problem most people have in waking up early is that when the alarm goes off and they hit the snooze button, their mind is still in a haze. In that early morning half asleep, zombie-like state, it’s hard to convince yourself to get out of bed and do whatever it is you want to do. Instead, your brain rationalizes and convinces you why the best thing to do is to stay in bed and sleep for a few more minutes.
Our brain doesn’t boot up as soon as we wake up. It takes time to wake up, and that time is enough for us to fall back asleep if we allow. When we sleep, our body goes into a slowdown mode. Our heart rate decreases, our breathing slows down and our brain activity decreases.
But the important digression from this principle is that WE ARE NOT WAKING UP TO EXERCISE OUR BRAIN, WE ARE WAKING UP TO EXERCISE OUR SPIRIT. This is a spiritual exercise and if we are able to apply these scriptural examples we will find that our brain, and our body, will enjoy Fathers provision.
Proverbs 10:27 (TLB) Reverence for God adds hours to each day so how can the wicked expect a long, good life?
This verse is suggesting that our efficiency is enhanced by our relationship with the Lord. One way of enhancing that relationship is to give Him the best part of the day and then the rest of the day will be better anyhow!!!!
Proverbs 14:30 A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.
Psalm 5:3 In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
oOo
Ross Smith 