Sunday September 15, 2019
Breakfast of Champions
There is something so beautiful and promising about morning. The dawn of a new day brings hope and expectation. It allows for a fresh perspective and vision. And in those moments, God can do amazing things.
Consistently spending time with the Lord effects permanent change in our lives. This seems to be a lesson that David learned early. Many of the psalms written by him reveal a heart that is not only “after God’s own heart,” but a heart that is drawn to the Lord at the outset of his day. David’s prayers reflect a desire and an understanding that must we begin our day with the Lord…the true breakfast of champions.
The word morning is found extensively in the Bible. It occurs more than 200 times in the Old Testament alone. It most often has reference to the physical event itself, but also calls attention to the morning’s central importance for sanctified time. Most importantly, morning was shown to be associated with divine activity.
Lord, in the morning You will hear me; in the morning I will present my case to You and then wait expectantly for an answer. (Ps.5:3)
By definition, morning simply means, “break of day.” But is comes from a root word that means, “to plough, break forth, search.” Morning requires action. That’s a powerful truth! Now we understand that the Lord is available at any and all times and the wise believer will seek Him whatever the hour of the day or night. Yet, there is scriptural truth and a spiritual principle we cannot ignore: that part of the day when we are “at our best” is the time when we need to come into the Lord’s presence to praise and thank Him for His goodness to us, and to seek insight, strength and guidance in order to live in accordance with His will.
May I hear about Your loyal love in the morning, for I trust in You. Show me the way I should go, because I long for You. (Ps.143:8)
Mornings in scripture are filled with the Lord. The psalmist tells us that “shouts of joy” come in the morning (Ps.30:5). David declares that God’s “help will be there when the morning dawns” (Ps.46:5). Psalm 90 promises that we will “satisfied in the morning with His lovingkindness” (Ps.90:14). Jeremiah proclaims that “His mercies are new every morning” (Lam.3:22-23). (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of satisfied)
The power of the morning was something known to many biblical witnesses. It is very apparent that believers in biblical times grasped the importance and spiritual significance of spending time with God in the morning.
- Abraham arose early to stand before God (Gen.19:27)
- It was Job’s regular practice to worship God early in the morning (Job 1:5)
- Jacob “rose early” and worshiped the Lord (Gen.28:18-19)
- Early in the morning Moses built an altar (Ex.24:4)
- Jesus taught “early in the morning” at the temple (Jn.8:2) and went to pray when it was “still dark” (Mk.1:35)
- The disciples entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach about the Messiah (Acts 5:21)
As we rise to meet the challenge of a new day, we must first rise to meet the Lord. Try to find those precious moments when God can pour Himself into your life before your life pours itself into your day. We may never know the mystery of the morning…we only know the power of it. Perhaps it is because Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, is our “Bright and Morning star” (Rev.22:16). Now that’s a breakfast of champions!
