Day #204 - Awaken the Dawn

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭57‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Austin Schmid on Unsplash

Do you usually wake up early enough to see the sunrise?

Are you a morning person? I’m more of a morning person than I used to be and that might be because we moved into a home where we can really see the beauty of the sunrise. Grace and I love to wake up in the morning and open our curtains to see what kind of painting God created across the horizon during the sunset. On a clear day, we can see the sun come up from behind the mountains and shades of blue, purple, pink, orange and yellow in different varying combinations ripple across the sky. There is something beautiful and invigorating about starting the day with a breathtaking sunrise.

The thing about the sunrise is that the sun wakes you up to start the day. But in Psalm 57, David says that he is going to awaken the dawn. The dawn is the first light that is building towards the sunrise. He’s not waiting for the sunrise to happen to him, He is about to awaken the new day!

We can only enter “the Presence” at God’s will and invitation. We can’t make God manifest for us by our own volition. But we also learn from David, we have to make a decision to worship and trust in God, even in times of great testing. David says that his heart is steadfast and no matter what, he will sing and make music. He says, “Awake, my soul!” David speaks to himself to awaken and make music. Entering “the Presence” is initiated by God, but we enter not by our feelings but a choice that we will worship and praise to enter into His dwelling place.

Don’t wait to feel like worshiping. Choose to put God first, early in the day! I would like to be better about early prayer. So many things can interrupt plans later in the day. Tell your soul, you are going to awake and praise God! Decide that today is a day for “the Presence!” Today is a day to awaken the dawn! Tell yourself, “Soul, you will worship God! Awake, my soul! Enter into God’s dwelling place! You will sing and praise the Lord!”

To some degree we get to choose what kind of day we are going to have. Choose to awaken the dawn rather then let the sunrise awaken you. Be intentional about “the Presence” and let your heart be steadfast in worship as you seek Him your refuge.

O God, my heart is steadfast in You. I worship You. I will sing and make music for You. There is no one like You. Awake my soul! I will awaken the dawn! Help me to pray early and pray first. My soul, you will sing and praise and seek the Lord, early will you seek Him. In Jesus name, amen.