Wide awake in the wee hours? Turn your eyes from the alarm clock to Jesus and find rest.
REV. BILL HAGGARD
Superintendent, Grand Rapids District
I wake up almost every morning between 4:00 and 4:30. I wish I could say I did that with purpose. I wish I could say I did this to exercise or to spend specific hours for various devotional practices. But, that’s not the case. I usually wake up with my mind racing. I wake up with my mind running from one place to another. And while on some mornings productive things do occur during that process, too often, if I’m honest, I spin my wheels.
It’s not that I don’t pray when I wake up with my work before me, I do. The problem is, I believe I’m awake because I am not trusting as I need to. What I mean by that is, I believe if I were trusting God as I ought to, I would sleep beyond 4:00am! Instead many a morning as I glance over at the red glow telling me I’m awake early again, I chastise myself for my lack of faith.
I don’t know if I’m alone in this place! But my guess is, I’m not. My guess is, too many of us ─ as clergy and as laity alike ─ have points in our life when we wake up early in the morning with concerns running through our minds. And we struggle with letting go and trusting that God knows our needs, is concerned about our needs and will lead us forward through our needs, all the way to the end.
Pray for me and I will pray for you that together we might grow in our trust, that we might rest, let me say that again…that we might rest in the Lord and trust in God’s goodness.
I’m not suggesting that there are not many important things which ought to draw our attention. I’m not suggesting that we ought to take lightly the responsibilities and struggles of our lives, and the lives of those around us. I am suggesting that God has promised to guide us and be with us in the midst of whatever important stuff is happening in our lives. In stressful times, it’s far too easy to forget that God is with us and to trust in that goodness. I know it far too well…at 4:00 in the morning.
~reprinted from D.S. Castings, February 1, 2017
Last Updated on February 14, 2017