This is an article I wrote for "1Voice" a ladies weekly devotional. I hope it blesses you.
ALL Things New - Strength & Spirit
I love to start my day out in a quiet, comfortable place, usually with a cup of coffee or tea, my Bible, journal and a pen. I pray and ask the Lord to show me what He wants me to read for the day or I read through one of my devotionals and I have my time with the Lord. Choosing to do this in the morning rather than at night, so that I can get filled up for the day I am about to face. I receive instruction, correction, encouragement, love and I read truth. This is the most important time of my day because only He knows what will come at me throughout the day and He knows how to prepare me spirit, soul and body.
One of my all time favorite passages is found in James chapter four.
James 4:13-15, "Come now you say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit; whereas, you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'"
The Lord always directs me to this passage because He knows me and knows how I tick. I am a planner; I like to make lists and accomplish them and have order. He, however, has plans for my day that I don't know anything about so He has to remind me (a lot) that it's not up to me to plan everything out and that things are not always going to go the way I think. So, when I spend time in the Word, I am fueled up and prepared to go through my day with His Word in me and His Spirit guiding my path.
I know that some people have their quiet time in the evening before bed and I also have that too, but there is something about starting out your day, before the business of life starts calling, to recharge your heart and mind and strengthen your spirit man with the living and active Word of God.
For it is only when we are submerged in the truth of God's Word that we become who He has created us to be. If we are feeling out-of-sorts and lost that is a sign that we need to connect with our Creator, the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." NIV
I believe the Lord does want us to plan and set goals, etc., but we must be willing to detour from our plan and be open to what He leads us to do on a moment-by-moment basis. We are, after all, here to glorify and do the work of the ministry, not necessarily finish our To-Do list.
