Word over world…
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Good morning, sweet Rise and Shine friends!
I hope you are doing so well!
Have you had your first cup of coffee yet? :)
A sweet friend of mine told me a funny story about coffee recently. She shared with me that she had never been a coffee drinker, but after reading my Rise and Shine devotional, she decided it may help her with her time with Jesus.
Haha!
She woke up earlier than usual to make her coffee and she did not like the way it tasted. At all.
She kept trying it every morning, and I think she has finally come around!
I just thought that was the cutest thing!
Coffee, hot tea, diet coke…whatever it takes to get us out of bed and at the feet of Jesus, right? :)
There is something about seeking Jesus first thing in the morning.
When we study the life of Jesus we see that He sought a quiet place to be with God in the very early morning. Often before the sun was rising.
I know, some of you are shuddering at the thought of getting up that early!
However, no matter what time we eventually get up, we need to seek Jesus before we seek anything else.
Why?
It sets the tone for our entire day.
It creates rhythm to our days.
It shows the priority of our lives.
We always have time for what we think is important.
It is just true.
There are 24 hours in every single day, no more and no less.
How we spend those hours shapes who we are, it shapes our hearts and our minds, in a big way.
Of course, many of us work long days, but even as we are working we can be with Jesus in our hearts and minds.
We can be faithful, obedient, loving, caring, kind, compassionate…as we go about our daily work.
Jesus sees our hearts. Every single ounce of it. He sees our thoughts, our motives, our truest intentions.
"For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1-2
For the past several weeks, I have been really pondering this verse from Matthew.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
These are words from Jesus Himself.
Let’s look at the verses directly before this one…
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Matthew 6:28-32
Jesus know the things that consume us! This scripture proves He knows our thoughts.
Now, let’s apply this to our mornings.
What is the first thing we seek when our feet hit the floor?
Be honest.
Is it our phone?
Our banking account?
Our social media messages?
The news?
Life 360? (raising my hand high on this one…if you have teenagers or young adult children…you know what I mean!)
Friends, what are we truly seeking?
This passage from Matthew Chapter 6 is titled “Do not Worry”.
Y’all, He knew we would be eaten up with worry and fear.
He knows our thoughts…even when we try our best to hide them from Him. There is no escaping Him.
I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! Psalm 139:7
A couple of weeks ago, I sat across the table from a dear friend…drinking coffee of course. :)
She confessed that she was eaten up with worry and fear over the state of our world.
She was asking me if I had seen this and that and this and that on the news….
I told her, No, I had not.
My friend went on to say that she just could not stop thinking and worrying about these things and it was even making her bitter and angry.
I told my precious friend to turn off her newsfeed and her television.
She was consumed with bad news, and I gently suggested that she fill her heart and mind with Good News. With scripture, with praise, with Psalms and worship.
I am not saying that we should be ignorant of things in this world, but friend, we are not supposed to absorb this kind of information at the speed we are absorbing it.
It is not healthy for our spirits or our physical bodies to be consumed with all of this terrible information.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
I suggested to my friend to turn those things off for now. These things were harming her and making her fearful and angry.
Also, I suggested to her to get her news from a Christian perspective…like The Pour Over. It is an email that is delivered to your inbox in the mornings. It covers the major events of the news without a political spin.
More importantly, this news has scriptures inside of it to help us as we read the news.
It has been a game changer for me, that is for sure.
The biggest game changer in my own life has been to get into God’s Word before getting into the world.
Word before world.
Friend, Jesus knows our hearts before we even say a word.
He knows what worries us…
He knows what angers us…
He knows every thought…
In order for our hearts to truly have peace, we must do what He says.
“Seek first His kingdom….”
Then…
“all these things will be given to you as well.”
I challenge you to start today.
Fill your heart with His Word, prayer, and praise, before you do anything else.
You will be amazed by the fruit of this practice.
“His Word never returns void”… Isaiah 55:11
Ever.
heating up my second cup of coffee,
jill
