What Gets Me Up in the Morning…

 Hear my cry, O God;

Attend to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a shelter for me,

A strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.

Selah

For You, O God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

You will prolong the king's life,

His years as many generations.

He shall abide before God forever.

Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

So I will sing praise to Your name forever,

That I may daily perform my vows.—Psalm 61

As I read Psalm 61, my soul knitted with David’s.  Every word of it could have been mine this morning. 

I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more thankful I am for my God and the hope that is mine in Him. Before I even open my eyes, I am speaking as Moses spoke to God in Exodus 33:15:

Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

I so need the promise of His presence with me to even get out of bed in the morning.  I truly don’t want to do any part of my day without Him. When I get downstairs and sit with my coffee and my Bible, I am often overwhelmed by my weakness and His strength.  What a gift His everlasting favor is to my heart in this fallen world!  His grace is always sufficient, always available and always reminds me that my hope, my strength…my very life is in Him and from Him. He is my shield and my exceedingly great reward. What gets me out of bed in the morning?  Only the presence of Jesus in my heart and in my life. 

When my heart becomes overwhelmed I remember that

I am His. 

He hears my cry

He leads me, shelters me and protects me 

He is my strong tower

I abide in Him who provides me with strength for each day

I belong to the One who delights in mercy and whose compassions fail not

I trust in the shelter of the One who died to protect me from the hopelessness horror of everlasting torment. 

He will complete the good work He began in me

I dwell with the One that perfects what concerns me and performs all things for me

Beloved…the Lord gives grace and glory.  No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Therefore, I will sing to the Lord and praise Him who has dealt bountifully with me!

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

And every tongue which rises against you in judgment

You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

And their righteousness is from Me,"

Says the LORD.—Isaiah 54:17

The LORD is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD

Forever.—Psalm 23