Wed Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

If you really want to connect with someone and communicate with someone, environment is a key. An environment is affected by two things: time and place.

For example, if I want to have a romantic meal with Teresa, I don’t take her to the Waffle House for breakfast. I don’t need to hear sausage and bacon frying in the background and seeing eggs tossed up in the air. You get the picture.

No, if I want to have a romantic time with my wife, I take her to dinner to a quiet restaurant with candles, linen, soft music and low lights. Time and place are important.

If you have something important to say to someone or you need to engage in deep conversation you need to do it in peace and quiet. When I proposed to Teresa I took her to church. We went into the worship center. No one was there, but me, her and God. Time and place were important.

Jesus understood the importance of a quiet time. Listen to these two verses of scripture.

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

“But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” (Luke 5:16)

Jesus reserved a certain time and had a special place He would get away to be with God.

Time is important. If you are going to draw near to God, so you can hear from God you’ve got to schedule time to listen. I would encourage you to literally schedule this and to literally to make an appointment with God. Do you know why? If you don’t schedule time with God, then most times you won’t make time for God.

How many times have you said to someone, “We need to get together” or “We need to go to lunch” or “We need to go play golf”, but then you never do? There is only one reason why you don’t. You didn’t schedule it! The easiest thing to get squeezed out of your schedule is this time with God.

I am going to make a strong suggestion to you and I am not saying that it is set in concrete. Nor am I saying this is the only time you can have a quiet time, but I would encourage you to have your quiet time first thing every day. We have already seen that Jesus did. There was a method to His madness. He knew that the best way He could do what His Heavenly Father wanted Him to do, day-in and day-out was to meet first with His Heavenly Father. On my to-do list daily is a repeatable first thing and it is my quiet time.

Some of you are sitting there going, “But I am not a morning person.” Can I let you in on a secret? Everybody does something the first thing in the morning - you turn on the radio or the tv, get on the computer to check email, or your cellphone to check text messages. Matthew 6:33 says we ought to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” Since you are going to do something first, you may as well seek God first.