the best part of waking up…
NO!!!
I’m not talking about that… but grab some REAL coffee and let me share with you one of my most valuable lessons I’ve learned in life.
Years ago I read Life on Fire by Ronnie Floyd and it changed how I woke up every day.
I’ll do my best to explain the simple yet profound principle he taught me that still impacts me every day.
“Early, first or nothing”.
What does this mean?
Based upon many verses that talk about seeking God, Ronnie encourages his readers to seek God EARLY if possible.
If early doesn’t work for you, make sure God is the FIRST part of your day.
The conclusion is; if you don’t seek Him EARLY or make Him the FIRST part of your day, expect to do NOTHING of eternal value.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)
Now, I know this sounds simple, but it’s really a great way to develop a discipline of placing God in His proper place….FIRST!
There is something about my life that I noticed to change when I began to implement this principle years ago. The biggest thing was peace. I began to go throughout my day with more peace than I had before. More of a confidence that things would be ok no matter what happened. Why? Because I sought Him first. I mentally, verbally and spiritually committed to Him every moment of every day. It changes things.
“Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3 (NLT)
A second thing I noticed was that my heart was clean. Early, before my feet hit the floor I was able to ask for forgiveness from the day before. I’d pray primarily that if anything I said or did hurt someone unintentionally for the Lord to forgive me and to help the person I may have hurt. In addition, and most important, I prayed that if I said or did anything to cause the Spirit of Christ to grieve to forgive me. This simple prayer has helped my heart stay clean, open and filled up with His love to extend to others.
“And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.” Ephesians 4:30 (NLT)
Lastly, don’t make this a legalistic thing. In other words, this should never be a “have to” but a “get to”. In other words, you “get to” begin each day fresh, forgiven and filled with His love and power to make an eternal difference for Him, who wouldn’t want that?
Perhaps the greatest model of this was Jesus Himself.
“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” Mark 1:35 (NLT)
So, I encourage you to try it. Seek Him early or first and see what a difference it makes in your life.
