Before the Morning
Today’s Verse:
Are you a morning person? Are you a “before morning” person? People who work the “graveyard shift” or who have to report to work between 2am and 5am are people who function before morning. Many a preacher (including myself) has labored in the Word before the morning. Before the morning is private time. Before the morning is prayer time. Before the morning is also providential time: this is time when God is at work while the majority of people are asleep. Let us see what happens “before the morning.”
We see removal.
Isaiah 17 is God’s pronouncement of judgment against Syria and its capital city of Damascus. The Syrians joined up with the king of Israel in fighting and oppressing the people of Jerusalem and Judah. God said that their trouble would start at evening, and before morning, they would be gone. God did something similar to Sennacherib and the Assyrian army. During the night, an angel went through the camp and slew the men. In the morning, it was determined that 185,000 soliders of Assyria were slain. “Before the morning he is not” is a reminder of the imminency of death and judgment. Don’t boast about tomorrow: you might not be here tomorrow! Your life is a vapor that is here one minute and gone the next. “Before the morning he is not.”
We see a roadway.
“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:21). Israel thought they were stuck, but God made a way for them to escape. God sent a strong, east wind that divided the Red Sea waters and made the seabed dry. What looked impossible was made into a reality. God makes a way where there is no way! God makes possible what looks impossible. Whenever we are stuck, we must have faith that God will make a way for us where there does not appear to be a way. Before the morning, God made a way.
We see rejoicing.
David said, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Paul and Silas had been physically beaten and thrown into prison. With their wounds still fresh and shooting pain going through their bodies, they prayed and sang praises to God. God opened the prison doors, but instead of walking away, they remained inside and used this situation as an opportunity to tell the jailer and his family about the Lord Jesus and the salvation available to them. The jailer and his family got saved before morning. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Before the morning, there will be suffering and sorrow, but as we let God work in our lives, joy comes in the morning.
We see resurrection.
Mary Magdalene and the other women came early in the morning and saw the stone rolled away. Before the morning sunrise, Jesus rose again from the dead. He rose again by His own power. Through His resurrection, we see hope for every future. Through His resurrection, we see the power of God at work. Through His resurrection, we see the finished work of the gospel. Before the morning, the Day Star prevailed over the devil. Light overcame darkness. The Prince of Peace defeated the prince of the power of the air. Jesus is Lord at all times. “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him.” Remember “before the morning” as a surrender time when the Lord desires to work in our life. Take advantage of the time that is before the morning!
Have a very early God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Acts 27-28