In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3
I will never forget the scene—I was leaning against the wall in the hospital corridor just outside my wife’s critical care unit. It was one of the lowest moments in my life as the news regarding Cindy’s recovery prospects did not look good.
Just then a woman approached me—I did not know who she was or where she came from—she may have been an angel. She looked at me and said, I want you to imagine that you are asleep in your bed and God is hovering over you with His face pressed upon yours—He has a big smile on His face and can’t wait for you to wake up so He can say, good morning Vince.
My first reaction was that’s a little odd. After she left, I thought about what she said, and it blessed me greatly at a time when I really needed it. It has been 15 years now since that encounter and almost every morning I continue the incredible habit that I learned
back then. When I awake, the first thing I do is utter the words good morning, Lord. Then I always say something like this; Lord, I can’t wait to see what incredible things we are going to encounter today—lets You and I go have some fun—You go first.
Someone once said, if God is your co-pilot…you might want to change seats. Such a profound, yet true, statement. I find that if my day does not start with honoring God with my first thoughts, a time of worship and prayer, and listening for His Holy Spirit, I become the ruler of my day. Sadly, I find most Christians find themselves here. God is an afterthought, someone to be summoned only when they encounter an obstacle or challenge.
My friend, this is perhaps the most compelling issue facing followers of Jesus today. We give mental, and even verbal acknowledgment of how important our Lord is to us without corresponding behavior that validates it. For too many of us, we choose churches who teach the kind of doctrine, teaching and worship style we like, but fail to move the experience from life-implication to life-application. In other words, when we leave our Sunday morning service or weekly Bible study, it is all-to-often business as usual.
This is so tragic and misses the promises of God. It goes right to the heart of a very big issue, do I really want God to be in charge, or do I want to be lord of my day? For me, it took a very big and serious issue in my life to teach me that I do not control much. No matter my gifts, the people I know or the amount of money I possess, without God nothing works the right way.
During this same trying time He taught me the secret to life. The illustration I use to describe this secret has sort of become my hallmark. The linked 12-minute video at the end of this message will unpack the idea. I encourage you to watch it. An abbreviated explanation is to simply place God between me and my circumstances every day. If God is located on the other side of my challenges, I tend to see Him through the lens of whatever I am facing. If God is in front, then I see my circumstances through Him.
The reason for this article, is to teach and encourage you to engage in whatever it will take for you to benefit from putting God in front of your circumstances every day. Please understand that no amount of good intentions, church service attendance, or even Bible studies will achieve the result of putting God in front. It is going to take a calculated, deliberate commitment on your part for this to happen.
So, if you truly desire to have God positioned this way in your life, you are going to have to decide how to make it happen. I cannot tell you what will work for you, but I will share what has worked for me. I pray it will inspire you to adopt some of it and see what works for you.
I determined many years ago to go to bed earlier so that I could get up between 5-6:00 AM every day to spend 2-3 hours with God. During this time with the Lord, I start by putting on some soft instrumental worship music and praise and thank Him for being Lord of my life. I usually try to take some time to be quiet and hear His sweet voice. Then, I enter a time of reading my Bible. I use a one-year bible reading schedule. Then there are about four different daily devotionals I read. My favorite is, My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers.
Next, I begin an extended time of prayer starting with the big picture—our world and all that is going on there as this is how the Lord’s prayer starts, "Thy kingdom come on Earth". After that I start my daily prayer list, lifting up my closest family first. I have over 80 people I pray for every day and most of them do the same for me. I conclude with prayers for the day ahead and all that I will encounter and ask the Lord to lead the way.
As I close, please let me encourage you to take this message seriously. To do the same old, is NOT an option. God is calling you and me to a new and higher level, and we must respond if we are to truly be The Man (or woman) God Intended.
Lord, I pray you bless and encourage all who read this brief article to raise their level of commitment to get closer to You. Lord, meet each person in a way that uniquely presents them with a plan that works for them. Bless and protect every person from the world, the flesh and the devil—all the forces that are designed to come against Your perfect will for their life. AMEN
Vince’s new book, The Great Exchange, my past for God’s future is now available in our bookstore or through Amazon
Please watch this 12-minute video where Vince shares what he calls, The Secret To Life.