Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. Psalm 97:11-12
“It is fitting that you arise with thankfulness and praise to God. This is fundamental and will be a natural (and supernatural!) beginning to your day after having retired in faith and prayer. The supposition is that when you wake rested you are apt to find the morning beautiful.
If you are not rested, you are likely to find it less pleasant; the light will be an insult to your eyes! Assuming you are rested, you are able to get up in time to enjoy the freshness of the new day.
You may walk out in your backyard or on your veranda where you can look upon the goodness and greatness of the world. Try to find a place where you can listen to the birds, of the soft breeze, or the patter of the rain. Drink it in for a moment, and just say, “Thank you God for this new day. Thank you for this new beginning.”
Dallas Willard in Life Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2018) 201.
As I have been praying for rain for the global network I serve, I rejoice that God has sent some provision for GTP. He is so good and faithful.
He sent water in the form of rain where I live this weekend. Sunday it poured most of the day. I went for a long walk in it watching the earth drink it in.
We must do the same thing. We must pray for God to supply what we need and when He does, before we can be generous we must drink it in with gratitude.
Thanks God for giving us rain when we need refreshment and light to our eyes for a new day. Thanks for your generosity, new every morning. Amen.