We tend to be laid back when it comes to our service to the Lord. Waking up early on a Sunday morning is always a challenge. How we wish that we could spend more hours in bed and not be pressured to be in church early. But as believers, our cry should be “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). This is particularly so since we are living in a spiritually dry and parched land. We should have a longing for the presence of God as one who pants for water. Our yearning to be touched by the Lord both in our spirit and body should move us to seek him early in the day.
When we seek the Lord early in the morning, he hears our voice. In his Psalm, David said, “In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3). The best time to pray is early in the morning when we are fresh from a good night sleep, before we can utter a word or do something that could lead us to sin. We know that sin can cause our prayers not to be heard. Through the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord said, “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isa. 59:1-2). Besides, we have the whole day to wait for the Lord to answer our petition. But if we only pray late in the day, there is that tendency on our part to be impatient in our waiting. Since we do not have much time left before the day is over, we cease waiting for God to respond to our petition and put matters in our own hands.
In one of the Proverbs of King Solomon, he revealed that when we seek the Lord early in the day, we find him (Prov. 8:17). The hustle and bustle of the day can easily distract us from our desire to seek the Lord. The moment we start with our daily grind, it will be difficult to set aside a time to even listen to the Lord. By the time we know it, the day is over. Indeed, we often relegate to the back burner whatever plans we have in serving the Lord unless we are up and ready early in the morning. Seeking the Lord early will ensure that we will find him, and in finding him we find life and receive favour from the Lord. Indeed, we can easily get caught up in the busyness of this world and get lost in the process if we do not seek the Lord early.
There is much excitement and rejoicing early in the morning. The Psalmist said, “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” (Psalm 30:5). The fact that we wake up in the morning is a good reason to rejoice. The most vulnerable moment in our life is when we are sleeping. We are completely helpless and defenceless. Anything can happen while we are asleep. But while this is the most vulnerable moment in our life, this is also the best time for the Lord to work in our lives. When we are asleep, we do not interfere with his work in us. But when we are awake, we resist many of the works of the Lord because we think that we know better. The fact of the matter is that the Lord does not need our help, only our cooperation. No wonder we often advise those who are sick to get enough sleep so that they will feel better in the morning.
Even as we seek the Lord early, we need to wait patiently and in expectation for him to respond to our petition. We should have the attitude of a watchman. The Psalmist said, “I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning” (Psalm 130:6). There are times when the night seems to be too long. This is particularly so when we are battling our problems. In those instances, how we wished that the morning light would come quickly to deliver us from our groping in the dark. But just as there is night, morning is surely coming. We only need to wait patiently and expectantly to receive our portion of God’s blessings. Yes, there is rejoicing in the morning!
When the night is too long and we are burdened, we need to respond to the call of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). Only Jesus can lighten and enlighten us. But for us to receive the full measure of his grace, we need to seek him early. As the saying goes, “The early bird catches the worm.” Hallelujah!
