Early Risers

It was a lifetime ago that I went to the North Georgia mountains and became a freshman at Young Harris College.  Interestingly enough, there are a few things I carried with me that I still carry around to this day.  Why these few things have survived, I do not know.  Among those things is a kerosene lamp, a pencil sketch of the cross, and a desk lamp.  The desk lamp also had a poem on a cloth book marker attached to its neck.  While I am not sure how much the poem inspired me back then when I knew so much, it often grabs my attention in these days when I am so sure there is much I do not know.

 

It is a poem entitled "The Secret" by Ralph S. Cushman.  The third and last stanza of the poem reads, "So, I think I know the secret learned from many a troubled day. You must seek Him in the morning if you want Him through the day."  It took me a long time, too long actually, to come to the place of understanding the value of starting the day with quiet moments for seeking the presence of God.  I used to boast that I had made a deal with God that we would not bother each other before 8 a.m.  Such a boast only spoke of my foolishness and my spiritual immaturity.

What I have learned on this journey is the morning has always been the gathering time for those who are serious about walking with God.  The experience of many is that the busier the workload and the heavier the schedule, the more important the early rising for intentional time with God becomes.  And, it is also true that the deeper darkness in which we are sometimes required to walk can only be endured through waiting quietly on God to do whatever it is that He desires to do.  Whether He speaks or remains silent, waiting as the day is rising before us is often the only thing which pushes us forward into His unfolding and unknown will.