20

Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa.... (2 Chronicles 20:20 NLT)

This verse is found in the midst of what is probably my favorite story of the Old Testament.

When Jehoshaphat became king of Judah, he set his heart to follow God.

As often happens, the enemies of Judah banded together in an effort to defeat him.

Jehoshaphat was terrified of the vast army and begged the Lord for guidance.
God simply told him to march out against them. 

And Jehoshaphat did.

Instead of putting his best warriors on the front lines, however, he appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. 

When the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa early the next morning, they went out singing.

Give thanks to the Lord; His faithful love endures forever!

At that very moment scripture says the Lord caused the armies that were gathered against Judah to start fighting among themselves.

When the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all their enemies had been defeated.

Not a single one escaped. 

They gathered the plunder and called the field where their enemies lay, the Valley of Blessing.

Even though the obstacles before us today may seem overwhelming and insurmountable, if we will march forward....and start singing.

There's no telling what God might do.

May we all find ourselves in a Valley of Blessing today.

19

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord; I run to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. (Psalm 143:8-10 NLT) 

When we try to walk on the path our Heavenly Father shows us, it's easy for us mere humans to lose our footing.

His guidance often leads us against our natural tendencies.

He shows us to an uphill road that we would never have chosen on our own.

When the journey forward doesn't go exactly the way we thought it would, it's natural for us to wonder if we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

If we're not careful, we allow our doubt to lead us in circles.

We buy into the lie that God grows weary of giving us the same instruction over and over.

But He doesn't.

Our Heavenly Father never tires of our need for assurance, or our pleas for guidance.

He wants us to come to Him each morning and ask for His help like the Psalmist did.

He will show us where to walk as often as we need Him to, so that we can move forward on a firm footing instead of backwards in doubt. 

Our Father never promised us an easy journey, He simply promised that it would be worth the struggle.

Our path may be tough today, but if we keep moving forward, we will eventually see the mountaintop view.

May we all move forward today.

18

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. (Psalm 139:7-12 NLT)

Though I became a Christian early in my life there have been many times since then when I have wrapped myself up so tightly in the darkness around me that I wanted nothing more than to hide in the depths of it.

For years, I ran as far as I could from the outstretched hand of my Heavenly Father that beckoned me home.

But even in the very darkest seasons of my life His hand was always there guiding me.

His strength was always there supporting me.

A few years ago, I was asked to give the testimony of my life to a group of ladies.

I wanted to tell them about all the wonderful things God has done in my life since I quit running quite so much and began following after Him at least a little more often.

But He kept calling me back to those dark places.

It was only then that I realized I could see His hand just as clearly in the seasons of darkness as I could in the seasons of light.

I could see His strength supporting me even when I deserved it the least.

That is the beauty of grace.

And the power of mercy.

May we always remember that sometimes it takes darkness to see the light. 

17

I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn. O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. (Psalm 130:6-7 NLT)

If you've ever worked through the night you're familiar with the desperate longing the Psalmist wrote about.

In the wee hours of the morning when exhaustion sets in, we begin to ache for the dawn, because we know deep in our souls that the light of the new day will bring a renewed strength.

In the darkest hours of the night we know that our hope lies in the dawn and we long for it.

In our journey through this life, when darkness settles in around us and we become exhausted, we long for many different things.

Riches.

Relationships.

Rest.

We tend to forget that our true hope lies in the Lord.

We forget that the ache that grows deep in our souls as darkness seems to swallow us whole can only be quenched at Calvary where the Son rose and redemption overflows.

The darkness can only be overcome by the light of God's unfailing love.

All our longing can only be truly fulfilled by Christ.

May we always remember to long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn. 

16

I arise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise. (Psalm 119:147-148 NLT) 

The only way some of us ever arise early enough to see the sunrise is when we've endured a difficult day that has stretched through the wee hours of the morning and cast a dark shadow on the clean slate of the next.

Instead of basking in the bright light of a new day, we desperately cry out for help in the predawn hours.

We begin today drowning in yesterday's flood of tears.

The Psalmist gives us hope for these kind of mornings.

He said that even as he cried out for help he put his hope in the words of God.

No matter what difficulties we face on this Earth we can find hope in the words of God.
If we listen, we'll hear Him whisper them to us in the morning breeze.

I love you.

I have a plan for you.

I will never leave you to face this world alone.

As long as we walk this Earth, there will be dark days that keep us awake through the night.

But when we think about the promises of scripture, instead of worrying about the things that are beyond our control, the new day dawns brighter than the one before it.

May we put our hope in His words today.

15

...You are arrayed in holy garments, and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew. (Psalm 110:3 NLT)

The Old Testament's King David spoke the words above in prophecy about Jesus.

Later, Jesus became the perfect example of a life lived through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Though He took on the form of a servant, He displayed unparalleled strength in the face of every temptation and trial He overcame in His 33 years on Earth including the cross.

Even though Jesus was God robed in human flesh, He spent countless hours in prayer and meditation.

He became the ultimate example of strength because He was renewed each day like the morning dew in the presence of the Father.

As followers of Christ our ultimate purpose on this Earth is to follow His example.

To be arrayed in the light of God's love, peace, and hope and shine into the darkness around us.

To become living examples of God's strength in this broken world.

To do these things, we must be renewed each day like the morning dew in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

We must spend time with Him in prayer and meditation.

If we ever hope to impact the lives of others, we must allow God to impact our lives.

May our strength be renewed today and everyday.

14

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre. (Psalm 92:1-3 NLT)


We all go through seasons in our lives when difficulties cause us to question the foundations of our faith.

We wonder if God really is as good as He claims to be.

Whether He really has a plan that we just can't seem to see or understand.

And why He allows terrible things to happen to those who clearly love Him.

In these difficult seasons of life, it's easy for us to lose our passion.

To allow our time spent at church or in prayer to become so routine that the fire of the Holy Spirit becomes a flickering candle in our hearts instead of the all consuming fire it is meant to be in our lives.

But no matter how passionless our praise may seem it is good for us to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to the Most High. 

Even when we don't feel like it.

Perhaps even, especially when we don't feel like it.

Because praise feeds the fire within us and inspires passion.

When we proclaim our Heavenly Father's unfailing love in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening, we fan the flames of the Holy Spirit within us.

And it is the Spirit of God within us that will provide the answers we seek in time.

May we remember to praise God through the storms of life. 

13

For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered. (Psalm 90:4-6 NLT)

Like a dream that disappears in the light of day, our life is brief.

Our days are even shorter.

In the earliest hours the brand new day stretches out before us with endless possibilities, and, like

Morning Glories, we bloom and flourish in the light of it.

But, often, as the day wears on, our hopes fade into reality and we become dry and withered.

We sometimes see the same pattern in the whole of life.

We start our walk with Christ in a blaze of glory, but as we journey through the realities of our life, our faith withers and our passion fades.

It's because one spectacular encounter with God isn't meant to sustain us for our whole life, or even for a whole day.

We aren't meant to meet Christ once and then go on with our lives.

Just as we aren't meant to meet our Heavenly Father in the morning light to bloom in His presence and then tackle the day in our own strength.

We are meant to hold His hand.

To lean on Him.

To let Him nourish us throughout our days, and our lives, with the living water that flows from His presence and keeps us passionate and alive in our faith.

We are meant to bloom throughout our days and throughout our lives.

May we bloom and flourish today and always.

12

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. (Psalm 90:14 NLT)

The prophet Zephaniah wrote that the Lord is with us.
No matter how far we may have strayed from Him.
He is a mighty warrior who saves us.
No matter how lost in the darkness of the this world we are.
He takes great delight in us.
No matter flawed and imperfect we may be.
He quiets us with His love.
No matter how unlovable we may seem to others or even ourselves.
And finally, He rejoices over us with loud singing.
No matter how failed and feeble our attempts to love Him back may be.
There is nothing that satisfies my soul quite like the image of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords singing for joy over me. 
He sings over each one of us.
No matter how broken and pitiful we are, we bring our Heavenly Father joy because He loves us with an unfailing love.
He rejoices over us, even in the midst of all our failures, with loud singing.
May that thought satisfy our souls this morning and inspire us to sing for joy to the end of our lives. 


May we sing for joy today and everyday. 

11

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. (Psalm 65:8 NIV)

Jesus promised that we would have trouble in this life.

And He wasn't joking.

Some days are tough.

And then some days are really tough.

But in the midst of all the troubles of life, the whole Earth remains full of wonders.

The magnificent beauty of a rose unfolding in the sunlight.

The joyful sound of birds singing in the breeze.

The sweet smell of freshly fallen rain on the fields behind the house.

There is so much in this life to enjoy.

So many things that are meant to bring us joy in the midst of our troubles.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to enjoy the beauty of the world that He has created for us.

He want us to find joy in the life that He has given us even in the midst of the inherent troubles of this world.

To hear the laughter of a child and remember to laugh along with them.

To smell a freshly brewed cup of coffee and be reminded of all the wonderful conversations had over one.

To stand beneath the beauty of the rising sun and be filled with awe at His magnificence.

He has filled the earth with wonders so that we can be filled with joy when we stop for a moment and enjoy the beauty of this life.

May we each find joy in all the wonders around us today. 

10

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. (Psalm 59:16 NLT)

I'd be willing to bet from the abundance of his writings on morning worship that the Old Testament's

King David was a morning person.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a morning person.

Every single time my alarm goes off in the morning it makes me frown and mutter unkind words under my breath.

I rarely ever wake up in a good mood.

But I have found that there is one thing, in addition to an abundance of coffee, that is guaranteed to change my morning mood.

Singing, like David, about God's power, and His unfailing love for me.

There is nothing in life that brightens my mood like belting out God's praises at the top of my lungs.
Of course, I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so I can't speak to the effect on the mood of those in earshot.

But there is an undeniably powerful spiritual component to music.
It can lift us up and remind us of the good in life, or pull us down and deepen an already dark mood.

Not just in the mornings either.

When we're completely overwhelmed by life and can't even formulate the words to pray, songs of praise will help us to focus our attention on things that are true, honorable, just, pure and lovely every time.

So, even if we're not morning people or talented singers, let's sing with joy this morning.

May we all take the time to lift our voices and our hearts in praise.

9

Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth. (Psalm 57:8-11 NLT)

Our Heavenly Father waits for us every morning beneath the brilliant colors of the new day.

He longs for us to wake our hearts up just a little earlier than we have to, so that we might, in turn, wake the dawn with a song of praise meant just for Him.

He longs for us to cherish time alone with Him as much as He does.

But, no matter how good our intentions are, with all the demands of life, it's tough for us to pry our eyes open at the crack of dawn.

Perhaps we can learn something from the Psalmist who wrote this passage.

He began waking his own heart with thanksgiving and praise.

He reminded himself that God's unfailing love is as high as the heavens even when ours falls flat.

He sang about the faithfulness of God that reaches to the clouds when ours would much rather stay hidden beneath the blankets of our bed.

He remembered that his Heavenly Father's glory, much like the sun, rises up and shines over all the earth for all the world to see.

Praise wakes our hearts.

When we remember everything our Heavenly Father does for us and how much we depend on Him, it seems such a small token of gratitude to meet Him in the morning light and give Him a few moments of our time before the world around us whisks away the rest of our day.

Though we may imagine that we are gifting Him with a small token of thanksgiving, we will be the ones who are abundantly blessed by the experience.

May our hearts be woken this morning with praise.

8

But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. (Psalm 55:16-17 NLT)

When we call on God, He will rescue us.

Sometimes the Lord will rescue us from our distress, allowing us to escape the situation by completely changing the circumstances around us.

And sometimes the Lord will rescue us through our distress, teaching us to lean on Him and His strength, even in the midst of the worst circumstances, and completely changing us.

But He always rescues us.

And though we may worry that we cry out in our distress too much, He never tires of hearing our pleas for help.

When we go through difficult circumstances in life and our morning prayers barely seem to carry us to noon, our Heavenly Father longs for us to come back to Him.

To cry out for more strength and more courage and more help.

He longs to hear our voice crying out to Him morning, noon and night, and every moment in between.

Continually.

Some days that's exactly what it takes for us to remember that He loves us and He hears us and He will rescue us.

May we remember today that He will rescue us.

7

There is a river -- at its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns. (Psalm 46:4-5 HCSB)

When we become God's child, our body becomes His temple -- the holy dwelling place of the Most High.

Our Father and Creator dwells within us.

He never leaves us.

He never turns His back on us.

Our Father becomes a part of us when we become a part of His church.

No matter what troubles the day may bring.

No matter what forces try to topple us.

God is never further from us than a whispered prayer.

And scripture promises that He will help us when the morning dawns. 

The morning dawns and our Heavenly Father becomes our help when we simply remember that He in all His glorious power is within us.

A part of us.

We can do anything through Him.

We can be anyone through Him

We are stronger than we think we are, simply because He dwells within us.

May we remember today and every day that God is within us.

6

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. (Psalm 37:6 HCSB)


When we commit our ways to the Lord, we become the Sonshine we are meant to be in this world.
We shine like the dawn when we trust in our Heavenly Father and His plan for our lives.
But trust isn't the easiest thing for us to do.
Our human nature rebels against trust in God.
We don't want anyone besides us to be in charge of our lives -- not even our Heavenly Father.
We prefer to be god of our own lives.
That desire even shows up in our prayers.
We will spend hours telling God exactly what we want Him to do in our lives -- making a heartfelt case for our own plan -- instead of leaning into His will and trusting Him to act in our lives out of His great love for us and His sovereignty.
But today is a new day.
It just might be the perfect day to choose trust and allow our faith to shine like the dawn.
This morning, let's pray the simple, defining prayer of Jesus.
Not my will but thine.
And see what happens.
No matter what troubles the day may bring, let's commit our ways to the Lord and embrace His plan.
Let's trust in the Lord and become as bright as the noonday sun.

May we all shine like the dawn today.

5

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:4-5 NLT)

God's undeserved favor -- His grace -- lasts a lifetime, and that's precisely why joy is able to visit us even in the midst of the darkest nights.

Joy comes with the morning light of God's grace.

When we open our eyes to His grace.

The grace of God brightens even the very darkest moments of our lives even though it may not always seem that way.

In the sorrow of the night, the blackness around us is clearly visible.

The light of God's grace, on the other hand, is often much more difficult to see in the night sky.

To find joy, we must purposefully search for the light in the midst of the dark moments of our lives.

But that light can always be found.

Even when it seems that our world is crashing down around us, grace shimmers like the faintest star in the night sky.

There is always something to be grateful for.

There is always a reason to praise His holy name.

When we sing the Lord's praises in the darkest moments of our lives, His light shines in our hearts like the morning sun.

And joy comes to us.

May joy come to each one of us today.

4

Listen to my voice in the morning Lord, Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3 NLT) 

David was anointed king over Israel about 15 years before he saw God's promise fulfilled in his life.

When he wrote this Psalm much later in his life, he was well-acquainted with long waits.

Yet, he still brought all his requests to his Heavenly Father in the early hours of the day and then waited expectantly for a response.

When we bring our requests to God we want a yes, but we know that even a no, can sometimes prove to be a blessing.

But when God's response to our requests is wait it's easy for us to lose our passion for Him and wait with growing disappointment instead of expectancy.

We quickly grow frustrated.

Sometimes we even move forward on our own.

When we find ourselves waiting it seems the most difficult thing in life to do.

There are things in my own life that God has promised, but I have yet to see fulfilled.

Some days the wait seems never-ending.  

But I've found that our Heavenly Father's response of not right now is usually followed by a but when we wait expectantly in His presence for a little while longer. 

God's response doesn't ever end with wait. 

He continues.

He comforts us in our disappointment, or He gives us some other work to distract us. 

Sometimes He simply reminds us that His plan will be worth the wait. 

The best part of His response comes after the wait.

May our requests be few and our waits be short. 

3

What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? (Job 7:17-18 NKJV)

Job was a little upset with God when He asked this question.

He was more focused on the test than the Teacher, but even in the midst of his pain, he remembered that God sets His heart on humanity and visits him in the morning. 

Our heavenly Father sets His heart on you and I.

And He patiently waits for us to visit with Him in the morning -- every morning.

When we meet God in the earliest hours of the day, before the darkness of the world around us has had a chance to settle on our hearts, we feel His love and sense His presence in a unique way.

In the quietness of the dawn, His still small voice sounds louder.

And, it is in the morning visit that He prepares us for the tests of the coming day.

Job was right, we are tested every moment.

Our days are filled with simple multiple choice questions that we answer whether we realize it or not.

We choose anger or grace in moments of disappointment.

We choose joy or bitterness in moments of pain.

We choose hope or anxiety in moments of fear.

And every test we face is influenced by one of the first choices we make each day.

In the earliest moments of each brand new day, we choose to meet our heavenly Father and allow

Him to prepare us for the tests ahead, or we choose to tackle the day in our own strength.

May we all choose wisely today.

2

Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night's wickedness? (Job 38:12-13 NLT)

These rhetorical questions were intended to cause Job to reflect on the infinite power of his heavenly Father -- and on his lack of power.

It's easy for me to see why God chose to use the sunrise as an example of His own might in His conversation with Job.

Every single time I see the sun peek up over the horizon I'm reminded that the morning has, once again, appeared at God's command.

And I'm struck with the knowledge that I have absolutely no power over it.

If I did, there are some days that I would slow down and savor.

And there are other days that I would choose to experience on fast forward.

But not one of us can cause the dawn to rise in the east or make the daylight spread to the ends of the earth.

In our own power, we are completely incapable of bringing an end to the wickedness of the night that sometimes seems to engulf us.

Fortunately, we know the One who can.

We know the One brings light into our lives every day.

The sunrise is just the beginning.

Our Heavenly Father commands the brightest light to rise up from even the darkest days of our lives.

And the more conscious we are of our own lack of power, the more likely we are to catch a glimpse of His.

May we all glimpse God's power in our lives today.

1

Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5 NLT)

Just a few verses into scripture, the very first sunrise paints the sky.

At the dawn of creation our Heavenly Father spoke and sunlight warmed the Earth.

From that moment on, the source of our sunlight has served many purposes, but perhaps the most significant is that, like all of creation, it testifies of it's Creator.

The awe-inspiring sight of the sun points humanity toward God.

Perhaps that's why He beckons us to meet Him for a quiet time of fellowship in the beauty of the dawn when we can see the sun rise up in all it's glory.

Our Heavenly Father waits for us every morning beneath the brilliant colors He has painted in the sky.

Then, when we rise up in the early hours of the brand new day to say good morning to the sunshine and to Him, He wraps us in His warm embrace.

Our Father whispers to us in the streams of light that dance on our upturned faces.

If we listen closely, we'll hear Him say, Good morning Sonshine. 

We are the light of His life, simply because we love Him back.

The same One who spoke the sun into existence created you and I to be His Sonshine.

He created us to be the light of the world.

To shine in the darkness and point humanity towards our Father.

To be like the sun.

And, most importantly, like the Son.

May we all shine brightly today.