Strength for the Day



Sunday night many years ago. Burleigh Heads.
"Have you set your alarm?" my well-meaning mother asked. "You'll need a good sleep tonight. But you mustn't sleep in!"
"It's fine," I replied, "I've set it for seven. I want to get as much sleep as possible."

I pushed away the fears that plagued me as I faced a new teaching job. I was still very tired after a long illness.

The next day I would start work – the first job I'd had for many long months. Though still tired and unwell, I wanted to work. So . . . I was having an early night and planned to get up as late as possible. A nice long sleep would definitely help.  I turned off my bed lamp, trying to ignore my feelings of apprehension.

I slept deeply.

Photo by Pam Bishop

I woke early. 

 The air was electric with the Presence of God.

 Dim light from the first rays of sunshine lit my room.

 I looked at the silent alarm clock.
A quarter to six, not seven o’clock.

                                                              
Surprised, I sat up.
The Presence grew stronger.
Being a very new Christian, I had not expected my first teaching day to begin like this.
“Do you really want me to get up?” I asked God in bewilderment. "I need more sleep.” I didn't feel ready to get up - and pray? - at all.

His Presence grew still stronger.

So I pulled back the sheets and hurried out to make a cup of tea, then returned to read my Bible and pray. As I prayed and read, I sensed His power welling up inside me. Little by little I felt stronger.

I glanced out the window. 
The sun was already rising in the sky among the clouds. Bright shafts striped the sky and spread into a molten gold pathway across the ocean.

 By quarter to eight I was ready and set out quite confidently into the sparkling day.

 Early morning at the beach - Pam Bishop.
                                                        
My first day went well. The early morning time spent drinking in God’s Presence had helped me much more than the extra sleep would have.

That night, I set the alarm for seven again. After all, that morning had been my first. It was understandable God had woken me early. For once.

The following morning I woke again to His Presence – before six o’clock.

After three days like this, I got the message. I began to set my alarm for quarter to six regularly. Each morning I breathed in the Holy Spirit.  His Presence buoyed me up through the day.

Soon I enjoyed these times with Him as the most treasured part of my day. It was like gathering manna each morning, manna to sustain me through the day.


It is different for everyone. Some people have ‘quiet times’ in the evenings. Some well-known people, as Brother Lawrence did, enjoy God’s Presence as they go about their chores. Brother Lawrence's book The Practice of the Presence of God has inspired many.

But mornings work for me.

Comments

  1. Jeanette O'Hagan10 October 2018 at 05:20

    What a precious experience, Jeanette. I'm a night person, but find it's good to have time with God in the mornings as then it's less likely to be squeezed out by all the other activities of the day - that, and practising his presence in the everyday moments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeanette Grant-Thomson10 October 2018 at 15:49

      Thanks for commenting on the site, Jenny. Yes, I try to practise his presence during the day - time pressure tends to make me a bit more focussed on other things. Surely at my age I should slow down but - I'm me.

      Delete

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