This week I want to take a deeper look at seeking God early. I want to make a disclaimer here that the word early does not necessarily mean the same thing for every person. For some early might mean 4 AM but for others it may mean 9 AM or even later. Learning to seek God early means to seek Him before your day begins. Maybe it’s after a cup of coffee, after you get your kids ready for school, or after breakfast. Early does not mean the first thing you do but it does mean before you start your day. Before you go to work, before you go to school, or before you start your daily to do list, you need to seek God. This week I want to focus on some of the benefits of seeking God early and how it can affect our daily walk of life.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
This verse is an enforcement of seeking God early and specifically seeking God through His word. Our walk of life is like a dark path and Satan has hidden his snares all throughout it. If we try to navigate life in the dark we are bound to walk in to one of Satan’s traps. There is good news however. We don’t have to blindly walk on our path in life. The Psalmist tells us that God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Why try to walk through life in the dark when God offers us a light through His word? The road of life is full of obstacles such as sharp turns, cliffs, sinkholes, and road blocks. Wouldn’t it be easier to travel this road if we could see the obstacles coming and know how to get through them?
This is why we should seek God early, and seek His word early. We should be in God’s word early so that His light is shining on us and ahead of us as we go throughout our day. Decisions are more easily and correctly made when we use God’s wisdom and not our own. Tough moments in life are easier to overcome when we know the promises of God. Temptations are more likely to be avoided when our mind is set on God’s word. Seeking God and His word early sets us up for success.
Imagine for a minute that you are in a dark room and are trying to navigate to the other side. Most of us have undoubtedly found ourselves in this situation at some point. You move slowly, carefully, and cautiously. You know that dresser is there somewhere… BANG! Your toe found it for you! You shake it off and continue on.. CRACK! What was that?! You’re not really sure but whatever it was is now broken because you just crushed it. Almost there… You’re moving even slower now.. “Ouch! Who left that lego there?! I’m going to get them!”… Finally you reach the light switch and flip it on. You look behind you and all those obstacles that just tripped you up are now clearly visible. You can also see even more obstacles that you somehow managed to avoid. It wasn’t an easy trek, you got banged up a little, but you made it. The light is on now.
What would have made this journey across the dark room easier? A light of course. If you had a light you could have avoided kicking the dresser, breaking whatever you stepped on, and saved yourself a lot of pain from that wretched lego. This situation illustrates to us why we should read God’s word early. I’ve mentioned before that I am more of an evening person than a morning person, which results in my day looking a lot like the illustration I just gave. I often try to navigate my daily walk in the dark and end up hitting many obstacles along the way. Then when I sit down to do my evening Bible reading/study God tends to shed a light on some of those obstacles. It becomes clear to me why certain things happened the way the did and how I could have avoided some obstacles, or at the very least been able to handle them better. Had I spent time in God’s word in the morning, my day could have been a lot easier. Better decisions are made, temptations are avoided, and all of life’s detours are navigated with ease when we seek God and His word early and allow Him to light up our path.
As you read and study God’s word, a light is shown on your path of life. A light that can reveal any hidden obstacles. As you go deeper in His word, that light grows brighter and reveals even more. In our daily walk of life it is important to read God’s word, and to read it early, or you will continue to stumble and fall in the dark. It would be crazy to live your life in the dark when so many forms of light are so easily accessible. We have lamps, flashlights, candles, torches, light bulbs, and nowadays most cell phones have a built in light. So why would you want to live your life in darkness?
The same question can be asked about your spiritual life. Why would you want to go through life in the dark, constantly aware of the obstacles ahead but unable to see them, when God offers us a light for our path? Just as we have many sources of light we also have many sources to access the Word of God. You can go old school and pick up a paper copy of the Bible, read it on the Bible app on your phone or tablet, access it online at Bible.com, or listen to an audiobook version. God’s word is easily accessible. Why continue in darkness? Stop trying to go through your day blindly and hoping for the best. Open up God’s word early and let His light guide you down your path.
