I love the morning. There is something new, fresh and amazing about a new day. It is a gift from God. I want to share with you three awesome things about morning.
1. Fresh Manna
Yeshua, when He taught His disciples to pray, said that we are to ask God for our daily bread. Surely this means provision. God has promised to meet our needs. After many years of seeing the faithfulness of God, I rarely panic over provision. I used to…for sure. But that is for the immature. When your relationship with someone grows, so does the trust factor. If someone has been faithful to you for ten years, you know he can be trusted. It is the same with our Father.
But, this is more than just filling our stomachs. God wants us to ask him for spiritual bread,as well. We get a picture of this from our ancient examples, the Israelites. When God introduces manna, He starts by saying this: “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.”
Wow! God will rain down bread for us. What a promise! But did you notice that the Israelites were expected to collect the manna every morning? Moses told them that “no one is to keep any of it until morning.”When they did, it was gross, full of maggots, and inedible. The point is that we cannot live on yesterday’s manna. We need to seek God daily for our spiritual sustenance.
2. Mercies are New
Each morning the mercies, or compassions, of the Lord are new. This is what we are told in Lamentations. This entire book is about the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. It is a sad book. God has judged His people. But the author doesn’t leave us hopeless. God will not judge us forever—His mercy, love and compassion is renewed to us each morning.
It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. Maybe you did something stupid. Maybe you sinned. You didn’t want to, but, perhaps, you gave into temptation. Yes, it was wrong. Sin is gross; hideous in the eyes of the Lord. But, as Peter says, “Love covers over a multitude of sins.”(1 Peter 4:8) While we don’t make light of sin, neither do we limit the ability of the blood of Yeshua to forgive us.
Lift up your head this morning. Confess your sin and receive the cleansing of the Lord. John gives a great promise:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
3. Joy Comes in the Morning
There is no question that God gets angry. Sometimes He is angry at us. Hebrews tells us that His discipline is an extension of His great love for us. What kind of good father doesn’t discipline his child?
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. (Heb. 12:7-8)
Don’t let His discipline get you down. If He disciplines you, He loves you! And there is more good news.
For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Ps. 30:5)
His anger is quick, but His blessing, favor and smile over your life lasts forever! Yes, you may spend a night weeping, but that weeping will lead to sweet victory in the morning.
In this context, David is under attack. His enemies want to kill him and it looks like they might succeed. In addition, it appears he is suffering from an ailment (v. 2-3). When I think of weeping through the night,it is not only because of the Lord’s discipline. It can be for many reasons. You might be under spiritual attack and need to intercede through the night. Maybe you are praying for healing from a sickness. David was – God heard him and healed him.
Maybe you are fighting a temptation. Often temptation comes at night. Most sexual sins are committed at night. Partying happens mostly in the evening. I remember being at a sales convention when I was a car-phone salesman in the late 1980s. At night, there were cocktail parties. Everyone was having fun. I was in my room trying to figure out how I would provide for my new wife and baby. Depression and oppression attacked me. I wanted to go to the parties and drink with everyone else. I wanted to fit in. But I sought the Lord. The next day, I had a great spiritual breakthrough that lasted for many months and I learned how to fight off the lies of the enemy. Had I given in I would not have learned and joy would not have come in the morning!
So, there you have it! Three reasons that mornings are awesome!
Bonus: Yeshua always got up early in the morning to spend time with His father. If He needed that time, then surely I do!