Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE coffee. And creamer. And quirky coffee mugs. And drinking out of said coffee mugs first thing in the morning.
But coffee isn’t really first thing in the morning. My day begins before that first sip of delicious go-go juice. My day, just like yours, starts the moment I begin waking up. Those hazy, sleepy, shadow-filled moments set the tone of our whole day.
Wait, you may say, I’m not even a real person in those first moments. Plus, there are 86,400. seconds in one day. How can a mere 60 seconds make a difference in how 86,399 seconds turn out?
It impacts our entire day because what we tell ourselves as we come out of the sleepy shadows is what we really believe.
When the kids were small my hazy sleep-deprived thoughts sounded like a looped message: I can’t do this. It’s too much. I can’t be the mom I’m supposed to be.
Have you ever had thoughts like these?
As the kids got older the same loop played each morning, even though things were, by comparison, easier.
I was stuck.
I was stuck in a pattern of believing lies. I felt defeated before my feet even hit the floor each morning. Overwhelmed by the circumstances swirling around me, I believed that there was no way anything would ever change.
Thankfully, things did change. I began fighting lies with truth. And truth sets us free.
The lies I believed were the ones that told me that God didn’t love me, that I was alone and that I had to figure things out on my own.
What lies draw you in? What truth could you start believing?
To began fighting lies with truth:
1.Write down the lies that you believe, the ones that run, uninvited, through your mind.
2. Make a list of things that are true about God.
3. Study Bible verses that speak about His lasting hope, His provision, and His Presence. Place them where you will see them first thing in the morning.
Beginning my day with truth energizes me for the challenges ahead. And our days are just chock full of challenges, aren’t they?
Do you need help getting started?
In the Morning: God’s Steadfast Love is for you. Click here to download this PDF. Take one truth a day. Read it, study the verse beside it, and ask God to root that truth deep into your heart. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Over time, His truth will settle in the forefront of your mind, and in those shadowy moments before you are really awake, you will hear His tender words welcoming you into each new day.