Joshua 1:8,  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Do you know someone, or maybe it’s you, who has to have that cup of coffee when they wake up in order to deal with the world?  It seems we all have certain routines, or maybe breakfasts that are just set and if that is missed or maybe altered it can make a difference in the start of our day.  There’s something about when you first get started after waking up and your mind is getting geared up for what lies ahead that can be somewhat fragile.  Have you ever received a phone call first thing as you are barely waking up, that just absolutely changed the mood and course of your day?  I totally get it!  

I found years ago that how I start my day makes a huge difference.  I started getting up an hour before anyone else was up so I could make some coffee, and my toast and I could sit down uninterrupted and read my Bible.  If I allow anything to get in the way of my time with God and reading His word, it wreaks havoc on my day.  I could miss my coffee or toast and while that may be disappointing, it doesn’t affect the rest of my day.  Spending time with God, and having my devotions reminds me of who He is and it’s a fresh reminder that I can do whatever He sets in front of me to do in His strength.  It stirs up my faith in the wait.  It fills my heart with peace and hope.  There’s so much craziness going on in the world that if we aren’t intentional about spending time with Him we will have more stress than we can possibly handle.  All of the coffee in the world won’t fix that!  His Word is life for the weariness of all that satan throws at you and the more time we spend with Him the more faith, strength, and trust we have to ward off those attacks.  His Word is what will light your way in this dark, dark world.  When anxiety starts to run you over or you feel hopelessness trying to creep in open your Bible or if you don’t have it with you pull up Bible Gateway and read some Psalms or one of your favorite books of the Bible and focus and read it like you are reading it for the first time.  Bask in His presence and ask Him for His peace.  This is on my heart this morning because yesterday I allowed some negative things to creep into my day before I sat down to read and it really messed up my focus for the rest of the day and nobody has time for that!  We don’t have to allow that because we are His children and He has chosen to walk with each of us, to have our backs, and guide us in all we do.  We are so blessed to have The Living Word of God at our fingertips that has the power to change our lives!  We should never take that lightly!  

So, I would like to encourage you to determine to begin your day, even if it means you start by reading one verse before you begin your regular morning routine.  I pray before I even get up even if it is just a prayer of praise to God for who He is and the fact that I know He has me in the palm of His hands and then I get alone with Him so I can learn more about who He is and what He has for me to do.  He wants some alone time with you.  He loves you and He wants to show you all He has planned for your life!