Embracing Those Early Morning Encounters

BY JOYCE PELLETIER

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. He learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:7-9

I’m a light sleeper. I can take a 5-minute nap and go on for the rest of the day like I had slept for 8 hours. The body is an amazing alarm clock. Its routines are hard to break. The older I get, the more I recognize routine has its good and challenging points.

In my last devotional it spoke about using the word “hard days” in place of “bad days.” This was a new perspective for those sleepless nights. When you think of "bad", ugliness seems to lurk its head. When you think of "hard days", there is a vein of hope. Like a doctor operating on a patient and finding all sorts of unrevealed illness. The thoughts going through his mind is let’s get this patient well again. It becomes a battle of "hard decisions", but in the end good results smooth that rugged pathway to find the way to the beautiful valley of healing.

Many years ago I fell prey to a really difficult night. I was wrestling with something I had done that was not a good choice for my actions. The night became a valley of tears and anxiety until one night it caused me to take notice. I got out of bed and retrieved my Bible. Then I prayed and found a passage that brought me to a place of peace. God’s word impacted my negative thinking.

I put the Bible and journal away, look at the clock and take a deep breath, as I snuggle back under the blanket of peace, sleep overtakes me. The next thing I hear is the alarm clock. I had finally fallen back to sleep and felt much better about things. The passage that often comes to mind is from Hebrews 5:7-9.

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. He learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

 You see during those stressful times, when I’m wrestling with anything, God is present with me. He is soothing my soul. He is talking to my heart. Peace and sometimes resolution helps me to let it go.

So many resolutions come from my early morning encounters. So often the next day, my life has spun back to where God wants me to be.

When I think that Jesus had to learn obedience for what He suffered, so much more do I need to learn obedience for my life. This concept has made me more conscious to be quick to find resolution and surrender my sin to God. The human side of Jesus convicted Him to follow His Father’s guidance and will. The early morning encounters bring rise to a beautiful sunrise in the morning. It’s a new day to start fresh.