A Daybreak Date
Luke 4:42 (NLT) “Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.”
I have had a love affair with sleep for as long as I can remember. Whether it’s burrowing down in bed after a long day of work or cuddling on the coach for a Sunday afternoon siesta, I LOVE sleep. However, many years ago an internal alarm begin to sound in the early morning hours. The alarm was the Holy Spirit awakening me to spend the first few minutes of my day with Jesus. I tried to hit snooze but the Spirit was relentless. I dreaded the thought of getting out of bed before daylight, not because I didn’t love Jesus but because I loved sleep.
Why do I need to get up early? What difference can a few hours and a little daylight make? Can’t God hear me later? Maybe you’ve wrestled or are wrestling with the same questions.
After more than a two decades of awakening to my internal alarm I wouldn’t change a thing. My daybreak date with Jesus and the life-giving power of His Word supply what I need to make it through the day. These twenty plus years have taught me the answer the questions above. Can I share them with you?
Answer #1: Jesus got up early and He is my example. On more than one occasion Scripture tells of Jesus getting up early to spend time in prayer. In the instance of our key verse Jesus had faced a very grueling schedule. He had gone one-on-one with Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-30), driven an evil spirit out a man (Luke 4:31-37), and healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law as well as many others (Luke 4:38-39). Yet when the new day dawned, He arose to meet with His Father.
Answer #2: Our Heavenly Father knows what we will face each day. Meeting with Him before the rush fills our heart with His love and peace. Our spirit realigns with Holy Spirit so we will respond in a Christ-like manner when the day’s events unfold. God knew Jesus would be headed for the synagogue to preach. (Luke 4:44) Time alone would prepare His heart and mind for ministry.
Answer #3: God hears us anytime we pray, day or night. But there is something intimate and deeply divine about sharing the genesis of our day with Jesus. It’s time when we get to meet with the Lover of our soul with no distractions or interruptions. The time at daybreak just opens the dialogue with God … the conversation continues all day.
With the burning questions answered, will you make and keep a daybreak date with Jesus? Grab a cup of coffee, hot tea, or lemon-infused water, He’s waiting for you.
My Prayer
Heavenly Father, today I am so thankful for the example I have in your Son, Jesus, and the way He met with you early in the morning. My desire is to be faithful in spending time with You. I want to experience the filling of Your love and peace so I can pour it out on a world that desperately needs it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
My Response
What changes do I need to make so that getting up each morning is easier?
My Power:
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12:1-2 The Message