The Glory of the Morning

Imagine for a moment that the one your soul loves, is intently and longingly studying your face while you sleep.  Their gaze never leaves your face, but rather takes in every feature of your face and form.  All through the night, they watch your chest rise and fall with each breath while waiting with intense anticipation for the moment that light from the nearby window gently caresses your face and brings your eyes fluttering open.  Imagine their scarcely contained excitement at sharing the surprises that they have so carefully planned for your day together.  The light in their eyes and the brilliance of their smile awakens in you your own anticipations for the time ahead.  In that moment, you know that you are loved and cherished even beyond your hopes and imaginings. 

My dear friend, that is exactly how God wants to love you.  All through the night, He is patiently waiting and crafting a day just for you.  He longs to caress your heart with a song, and to watch you wake with the knowledge and confidence that you are incredibly loved.  His heart is to walk out each second of your day with you, to love you, guide you, shield you, and grow you.  He sees the next twenty-four hours spread out before you filled with surprises and joys, and even challenges and hardships.  His ask is that we have complete trust in Him, and surrender to the plans He has for us.  

When I was caring for a dying husband, having a baby, and still running the rest of house and home, many people asked me how I could possibly seem so “together” and at peace.  I would usually reply saying, “It’s just God!” because I didn’t know how else to put it into words.  Years later, I can quantify it so much better.  God really is the lover and keeper of my soul.  Every single thing that has happened in my life, He has walked me through it…….the good, bad, and the ugly.  He preserved me, and He’s prospered me.  He has grown me and pruned me.  He has been silent, and He has been audible.  He has responded with glorious laughter at my delights, and He has cried with me all while catching and counting every tear.  He has turned my mourning into dancing, and fear into reckless abandon.  He has sung me to sleep at night while holding me close, and He really does wake me with a song in my heart (and head) every morning.  He has closed books that needed to be finished, and surprised me by writing new beginnings I never saw coming.  You can never convince me that He isn’t for me, just as surely as I know He is for you.

I want to encourage the broken one tonight.  The one betrayed and dealing with unforgiveness, the abandoned one, the depressed one, the forgotten, and the lonely.  I challenge you to think of yourself as loved by the One who made you.  Ask Him to awaken you to His promises for you.  Allow yourself to begin each day fresh with His grace and mercies.  After awhile, trusting Him and living out every moment aware of Him will become second nature.  He wants SO much more for you, and He is giddy just waiting to unleash the surprise of your best life ever.  Dare to discover the glory of the morning!