I used to be a morning person, but I lost that habit somewhere. In theory, I love the idea of getting up early, but somehow, I'm not as fond of the "early to rise" ideal when it calls for actually rousing myself out of warm comfort. Many nights I have had good intentions of rising early the next morning, but I always think of a good excuse by the time morning light comes through my window.
Throughout the Bible, rising early in the morning seems to have been a pattern for carrying out God's will. When Abraham offered Isaac on the altar, he rose early for the trek to Moriah. God instructed Moses to "'rise up early'" to tell Pharaoh to let God's people go. The seventh day the Israelites marched around Jericho, they rose early - at dawn. When Nehemiah read the Book of the Law to the people of Israel, he started early in the morning.
It wasn't just people in Old Testament times who followed this pattern. Jesus would rise very early, "while it was still dark," to pray alone before another day of ministry. He would teach in the temple "early in the morning." When some of the women came to anoint Jesus' body after His death, they went to the tomb "very early."
As Hudson Taylor said, "A man may be consecrated, dedicated, and devoted, but of little value if undisciplined." All my good intentions aren't worth much if I don't actually carry them out. That discipline causes our plans to bring good return for our work.
So, here I am. It is 6:09 AM. Not too early, but I have to ease into this, right? It's already bright outside, but I did catch a glimpse of this morning's sunrise. And to think I would have missed that.
Image courtesy of domdeen / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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