“…He (the Lord God) wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” Isaiah 50:4
Dear Ones:
What is the first thing to look forward to in the morning? Moses wrote in Psalm 90:14, “O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” David wrote in Psalm 63:1, “O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek: my soul thirsteth after Thee…” What is it about these men, and so many others, that leads them, not only to seek God early in the morning, but to live in the expectation of truly meeting Him, and to be met by Him? The answer lies in the words of David: “…my soul thirsteth after Thee.” David was a man, like the Apostle Paul, who was full and empty at the same time. He would know the satisfaction of heart, the quenching of his thirst, the renewal and restoration of his soul. But, he would also have the conscious need of desiring to know God more, more deeply, more extensively in the life. God would put into his heart, as He does in every child of God, a yearning to know Christ, and as Paul would add, “…and the power of His resurrection.” God was real to these men. He was a God to be sought, and found in the early, quiet moments of the day. Two questions then need to be asked: The first is, “Where did they seek Him?” And the second, “How did they find Him?”
As is the case in every thing that pertains to God, to Christ, salvation, and the intervention of God in the life, one must begin with God Himself, with Christ. In Matthew’s gospel, he does not write that one cannot know God in a crowd, though the distractions can be innumerable in doing so. However, He gives us the Lord’s words on the subject: “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.” (Matt. 5:6) Here is the first thing, to be truly alone with, and before, God. It is here, in the quiet place, alone with Him, with the Scriptures open before the believer, that a true seeking of God can occur. What must be equally underlined, and remembered, is that there is a promise of God which accompanies such a seeking of Him. Again, Matthew gives us the Lord’s words on the matter: “…and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” God is a God, not only to be sought, but to be found. He is one who reveals Himself to the heart, mind, and soul of the believer. He does so for any soul who will truly, and willingly, seek Him. The first step in seeking, and worshipping God, is to be alone with Him, in faith, believing Him and praying to Him according to the truth.
There is a second matter which needs to be addressed in seeking God, and it has to do with an attitude of expectation. Isaiah writes of the Lord Jesus, and of all believers, when he speaks of being wakened by God in the morning. He brings us to live in the reality of God waiting for us to come to Him. The fact that we wake out of sleep is the very call of God to come, and have communion with Him. Why does He wake us in the morning, but to speak to us, commune with us? Note that Isaiah is very clear that it is God who “wakeneth” my ear to hear as the learned. Not only are we awakened by God every morning, but He actually gives us the capacity to hear Him speaking to us through His word, as we wait upon Him, believing him to answer when we call, revealing Himself as a reward to the seeking soul. The great men and women of antiquity, who came to know, love, and serve God, being overwhelmed by the reality and power of His presence, became such because they sought and found Him.
Dear Father, Give us to seek, find, and hear Thee speaking, early. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad