One of the things I love about summer is the warm and long days. It is also a time where many of us get away to our beautiful mountains or we take some vacation time to be with family and friends. It is a time where we can be refreshed and relax. Summer is a wonderful time and a favorite time for many of us.
I love to get out and do some fly fishing and to take short road trips to see different places. So every late fall and winter, Sue and I begin to make plans on what we want to do when summer comes. This year we were especially looking forward to getting away and enjoying summer. In the previous year our plans were halted when my mom died and we were dealing with everything that needed to be done. In the fall our trip to Israel with our church was cancelled because the war with Hamas broke out a few days before we were scheduled to leave. It was, to say the least, so disappointing to all who were going.
This spring right around Easter, Sue was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then, it has been a couple of months of appointments and tests and talking with her medical team. As we entered the summer, once again, we had to cancel a couple of our travel plans and Sue will have surgery later in July. We are both disappointed that we are, once again, having to put some plans aside, but the Lord has continued to minister His comfort and assurance to us and we remain thankful.
I also have rediscovered something during this season and that is what Proverbs 8:17 declares, "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me." In context it is speaking of wisdom that is Godly wisdom, and we know it comes from His Word. Godly wisdom comes not only from knowing His Word but having that close intimate relationship with our loving Lord as we walk with Him.
I have always reminded believers to read their Bibles every day and to spend time seeking the Lord. There is a very special time to do that and it is early in the day. The Lord has awoken me early at times, right before dawn begins to break, and it has been a very rich and wonderful time in the quietness of the day to spend time in prayer and to hear from the Lord. It is a time where it is quiet and in the cool of the early morning I can just focus on my Lord without distractions that can happen in so many ways.
David would write in Psalm 57:7-8, "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast
I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn." I can see why David was a man after God's own heart, because he writes that he wants to praise the Lord and sing to Him. Usually it is the dawn that awakes us in the morning but it is as if David is saying, "I'm so excited to seek God and to praise Him that I will awaken the dawn. I can't wait to draw close to my God and I will do it even before the break of dawn."
I would encourage you, especially in this summer season where the mornings are cool and quiet, to awaken the dawn and draw close to Him. It is a special time and you will discover, as I have once again, the joy and peace of the Lord. I know that I may not be up every morning before the sun arises, but I have discovered it is a special time just as David and Solomon did and declared it in the Word. It is true for me and for you today and wise is the one who knows, "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."
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