Morning By Morning He Wakens Me

Meditations on Seeking the Life in Christ

November 24, 2020

Morning By Morning He Wakens Me

Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.

Isaiah 50:4b

“I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.” So says the Apostle Peter in Acts 10:34 when he arrived to meet Cornelius. This is good news for us because what was true for the Prophet Isaiah can be true for us: “Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.” How can this be true in our life?

As I read this passage in Isaiah 50, I thought about Jesus’ parable of the sower. (Matthew 13) In this story Jesus told, the farmer is extravagantly generous with his sowing, but three quarters of the scattered seed does not produce fruit. I believe God is extravagantly generous in His desire to awaken me and open my mind to understand his will for me. The Apostle Paul powerfully affirms this truth: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13). However, as God is so generously sowing seeds my way, am I as generous in my listening and willingness to obey? Isaiah models God’s desired attitude within me: “The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away” (Isaiah 50:5).

If I am honest, I will admit I am not always listening, and I do rebel and turn away from God. The hymn writer nails me perfectly:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;

Prone to leave the God I love:

Come Thou Fount, Robert Robinson

Why? I recall a true story I heard about the Dean of Chapel in a large university. He was frustrated that attendance at his services was so slight. His friend offered a reason why. “Our students are very smart; smart enough to know if they attend your Chapel service they may have to change the way they are living.” So it is when God awakens His spirit within me. Sometimes I don’t want to listen because I don’t want to change.

My Takeaway: The antidote for my condition is in two parts. First, with a sincere heart, I pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”

Secondly, I submit to Psalm 46:10a, “Be still, and know that I am God!”

I don’t feel as though I am alone in this endeavor.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

 

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.