“Ouch!”

I exclaimed as I stub my toe on the corner of the bed.

When I get up in the morning, I am not the most coordinated individual these days. Honestly, I never have been. As I walk out to the kitchen to pop a coffee pod into my Keurig, I move like something out of The Walking Dead.

I am not, by my nature, a morning person. I can get a second wind late in the day and push deep into the night to get things done.

Mornings bring stiffness, grogginess, and fog that does not clear until I have had a heaping cup of coffee and a long hot shower.  Early morning is not the time that I do my best work.

O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Psalm 5:1-3, NLT

Yet, I hear these words from the Psalmist, and I can relate. When I spend quality, focused time with the Lord at the beginning of the morning, it sets a tone that carries through the rest of the day.

By spending this time first thing, I am acknowledging that I need God and can do nothing apart from him. 

I am giving him control over my day to determine my direction and focus so that I might be about his plan and not my own.

This is not a time of in-depth study. My mind is not awake enough for that. 

Instead, it [morning] is a time of quiet reflection in the presence of my loving Father—a time to “wait expectantly.”

We all have different rhythms that work for us, but even if you are not a morning person, there is no better way to start your day than to begin it with Jesus.  It doesn’t have to be deep thinking, but an earnest seeking of the face of Jesus to start your day.

How do you start your day? Is Jesus a part of your morning routine? Do you launch into the day at a fevered pitch without the very one who gives you the strength to do all that you need to do?