"O satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, and we have seen evil." Psalm 90:14-15

Today we are looking at the only Psalm written by Moses, and the oldest Psalm recorded. Moses starts off by acknowledging the eternality of God and the frailty of men. He speaks of the sinfulness of man, and his shortness of life. As I read verses six and seven, and reflected over my life span, I realized the truth for all of us:

"…In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. Toward evening it fades and withers away."

He informs us life is 70 years, or 80 if we are strong. He tells us our pride brings only labor and sorrow, and soon it is gone and we fly away. He speaks of God’s power and wrath we provoke as a result of our sins. Then in verse 12-13 he request of God:

"So teach us to number our days, that we might present to You a heart of wisdom. Do return, O Lord; how long will it be? And be sorry for your servants."

Then Moses reveals the secret as David did in His writings for a happy fulfilled life: " O Satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness…" We must seek Him in the morning if we want to have Him leading throughout the day. We are either walking in our flesh all day living our way and doing what is right in our own eyes, or we allow God to bathe us daily in the morning before we begin our day in His lovingkindness, which means a spiritual cleansing of our thoughts for His thoughts. We cannot be led by the Spirit, as all followers of Christ are called to do, if we do not surrender our will for His daily instruction. He must have first place in our waking moments.

This is not a legalistic thing I am talking about. Who doesn’t want to experience the lovingkindness of God? We have to go into His Presence with praise, thanksgiving, and prayer, and opening His Word for instruction, to hear directly from Him. I journal what I hear from Him, so I may return to it in my withered state at the end of my day. I need to return to the peace and joy I began my day with. If we do this Moses tells us we will sing for joy, and be glad all our days! What we sow in the morning, we will reap throughout our day.

We all know and have experienced days of affliction, and days of seeing evil. It is prevalent as never before in our society. The only way we will see good come out of these times in our lives is by allowing the Lord to illuminate our darkness. He is the Light of the World. He will guide us through these times and teach us wisdom if we allow Him to. If not, we will be overcome by the darkness, and become blinded to our own sin causing us to lose our way. He uses affliction to direct us to return to Him.

Why choose a day of darkness when you can have your path illuminated before you by spending time with Him? There is nothing in our lives more important than this truth. Jesus also exemplified this while on this earth. Let’s look at Mark 1:35:

"In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there."

If Jesus didn’t start His day without time alone with the Father, how much more is it necessary for us? That is how He lived out God’s will for His life. He had it revealed daily to Him moment by moment.

Getting up to be with Him has been a way of life for me since making Him Lord of my life. Allowing Him to give me a desire for four children in six years enabled Him to teach me the discipline of early mornings crying out to Him to make me like Him. I needed Him to be a godly mother before my children. Don’t think this meant no failures or mistakes. This meant living a life of transparency letting them see where my strength came from, and my total dependency on Him. I had to get up early while still dark, before any of them arose demanding all my attention to meet their needs. From infants and toddlers, to homeschooling, teen years and adult, and I still need Him as much as ever.

He called me to be something I could not be without Him — a godly mother. It required a true death to self, as He lived out before us on this earth for us. I needed His guidance and wisdom for training each child. All four were unique with very different learning styles. Only He could give me the wisdom to know that through the Holy Spirit leading me into all truth.

The Holy Spirit was sent to all of us from Jesus and the Father. We must learn to depend on all the promises They would fulfill for us through the Holy Spirit. He is to be our counselor, our peace, comforter, helper, our Teacher, always leading us into all truth, and a source of strength and power within us. He gives us discernment. He is our advocate and intercessor. He is our healer if we allow Him to be.

Moses was born before the the cross. We are so blessed to be born after Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. May I encourage you to get to know the third person of the Trinity. The book of Acts tells us we shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. Pray for this power!

In Acts 1 the disciples are asking Jesus was it at this time He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel? His response:

"It is not for you to know times or epochs which the father has fixed by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. "

In Psalm 5:3 David declares:
"In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch."

Please allow the Lord to hear your voice first thing in the mornings. And allow His voice to be the first one you hear in your morning. What He has to say to you is more important than what anyone else has to say including your husband, wife, or children. If you long to love your family, then allow Him to show you how before you seize the day. That means you will have to get up before everyone can clamor for your attention. Give Him the first fruits of your life daily. Set a goal of three days in a row. Then add three more, until it becomes a way of life. You will achieve a purpose driven life by the Holy Spirit. It is a life no one can take from you. It is our decision; not anyone else’s. It is between you and your God. Make a decision I can promise you will change your life and the life of those you love.

When we fail, repent and persevere. Don’t give up. We are not failures till we quit. This relationship is the most important one any of us attain. Set your face like flint as we are told Jesus did as He faced the cross for us in Isaiah 50:7:

"For the Lord God helps Me, therefore I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be shamed."

Let us join our Savior, Moses, David and many other saints of God who have learned the secret of a Spirit driven life surrendering out thoughts for His, and our will for His no matter what our circumstances, so we can declare with Moses his final declaration in Psalm 90:16-17:

"Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands. Yes, confirm the work of our hands."

In His love.

Teresa Roberts
Masterpiece Fitness
www.masterpiecefitness.com
276-237-6680

So grateful for a time to retreat at Hilton Head Island, SC and seek a time of rest and refreshment surrounded in the beauty of His creation!