First and Early

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb – John 20:1

Last Sunday, the pastor at my home church spoke on that verse as part of the sermon. He said "come to me early", and I knew God was speaking to me with that. I may not have mentioned that I have tried to wake up at 5 A.M. in the past, to spend time with the Lord, and it has not worked out too well. However, after hearing that sermon, I felt called to do it again. After all, Mary Magdalene (and probably other women who followed Jesus) woke up well before sunrise to go to the Lord.

Following the sermon, I made that commitment... again. Monday morning at 5:00 my alarm went off, and of course, I shut it off and fell back asleep. Tuesday morning came, I turned my alarm off, and told God I would stay in bed and pray right here. As I started to pray, (I think I prayed for about 10 minutes) I drifted back to sleep. Tuesday night, I decided I needed to do something to change that, so I prepared my coffee, so I only had to turn the coffee maker on (mine is not automatic) for it to start brewing in the morning. Wednesday morning came and before falling asleep again, I remembered that I had coffee at the push of a button. I got up and walked to the kitchen, turned the coffee maker on, and began to pray at the table. It worked. Today is Thursday and here I am, successfully having stayed awake to put God first for the second day in a row.

Lately, I have been feeling called to put God before everything I do. I suppose this is one way to do that. I am beginning to understand that he has plans for me, and in order to see what he wants for my life, I have to submit to him first thing. Yes, 5 A.M. is early, and I do like to sleep. However when the Lord calls us to serve him, it will not be from our warm bed. If you have been called to do something for the Lord, even simply to wake up early, what are you waiting for? Do what you need to to get yourself motivated and put Him first. It may not always be what we want, but it is certain that God has wonderful plans for us all, we just have to make the commitment to follow them.

May they Lord guide you and bring you the strength and motivation to honor Him in what you do.

Peace be with you.