First thing

“O God, you are my God; EARLY will I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” Psalm 63:1

“Mom, can you take me to the Apple store – my phone fell in the toilet”

That was the first message I saw when my eyes popped open.

Sure, I love serving my son but thoughts of anxiety began swirling in my head. What about my plans to attend my once a month Toastmasters meeting? Now, I will have to devote hours to Apple. Ugh!

I stared at the phone ready to spit out my list of annoyances and gripes and Holy Spirit stopped me with a sharp rebuke.

I did not seek Abba first thing and so my morning began with “ME”…

Many years ago I made a pledge to never grab my cell first thing. In fact, I resigned to leave my phone away from my bed AND to buy a clock to use for my alarm. I realized that social media (in all of its form) is unhealthy first thing in the morning.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing should go before seeking God first thing.

Get me right, I’m not saying we need to sit for hours at a time as we seek our Father each morning. What I am saying is He needs to be the first one we commune with before we have our days jumpstarted.

Seeking God first sets the tone of day.

Seeking Him first brings perspective.

Seeking Him first dispels anxiety for the unknown hours ahead.

Seeking God gives the wisdom and strength for the tasks ahead.

No Company Needed

Jesus sought God first thing each day. He would go to a quiet place and there He would tabernacle with His Father – alone.

Seeking God does not require outside company. You plus God is enough.

I believe it was during His time alone with His Father that He received His daily assignment. I also believe that this time of communion provided Him with the wisdom to handle the daily challenges and obstacles; the insight into how to meander through the gripes and grumbling of Scribes and Pharisees; the strength to deal with “draining” disciples and so much more.

Though Jesus was 100% God, He never forgot He was also 100% man and knew neglecting one on one time with His Father was non-negotiable. It simply had to be done. No matter what time He went to bed or how busy His day was before. Every morning as He held out His hands to receive new mercies, His hands remained open to accept the daily assignments.

Father, we come to You today repenting for not seeking You first. We confess Father that we have become so engrossed with our own affairs that we neglect to come to You and ask what You would have us to do. We ask Lord that You would guide our thoughts and cleanse our hearts. Align Yourself to us so that we become transformed by You as You daily renew our minds. Remind us Father that we cannot do life without You. As the songwriter says, “we must have the Savior with us for we dare not walk alone.” Father, walking alone should never be an option for us – ever. We ask that our gaze would remain fixed on You always. In Jesus‘ name we ask these things. Amen.

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