Is God Awake At That Time?

1-14pm

This is a question I was asked today: Is God awake at the time I wake up? I have always been a morning person. In my teen years, I used to wake up early – at about 4-30am, have a quiet time, study and then leave for school around 6-30/7am.  When I started doing the daily Rise and Shine show on CCFm 9 years ago, I used to get up at 4-45am, get dressed and be on the road by 5am. I didn’t stop to pray. I would pray while I was driving or walking, but, to my detriment,  I seldom had a private allocated period of concentrated prayer. I’ve told this story before, but although parts of it may have appeared on my blog, I can’t recall writing down the whole account of it.

At the end of 2009, I began to ask God if He wanted me to continue doing the Rise and Shine show.  I was tired! The endless getting up at 4-45am was become exhausting. It was drudgery. Losing passion for my job was the last thing I needed. I have always LOVED presenting and particularly I  love presenting the Rise and Shine show. I love the interaction with the listeners. I love being the early morning encourager. But I was beginning to complain to God for the early morning hour. I was a painful dripping tap to the ears of the Lord “I’m so tired! I’m so tired!” I took 3 weeks off at the end of 2009 to rest and see if either God would give me definite permission to hang up my headphones and microphone or to give me my passion back. Whatever happened, something had to change.

By the time I returned to the studio early in 2010, I had received no answer. I decided the best course of action was to continue until God spoke. So back on air I went, more sensitive to God’s voice, seeking Him to find out what I should do. I needed to know that this was where He wanted me. The school term began and with it came our weekly Friday morning Bible study. Riana decided on Beth Moore’s Series on the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Beth Moore

The series begins with a 2 part introduction, so before you even get to Love, you’ve done 2 hours of study. As I sat and listened to the first part of the introduction, Beth stated that with the fruit and the filling of the Holy Spirit you can do things you never thought you could, you would know things you never thought you would and you would feel things you never thought you should.  That was really all I needed to hear. I have the Holy Spirit so I can do things I never thought I could and that meant continuing with Rise and Shine. Ha!  I was encouraged and the next Monday morning, I went off to CCfm with renewed confidence that I was doing what God wanted me to do. BUT, He wasn’t finished with me yet!

The next week we went to hear the second hour of the introduction. Beth was to speak on how to get the fruit and the filling of the Holy Spirit.  She looked directly at the camera (ie right at me)  and said, “to get the fruit and the filling of the Holy Spirit, you have to spend time with God, EVEN IF IT MEANS GETTING UP EARLIER!”

I could not believe what I was hearing. Did she have any idea of how early I was getting up already? How could God expect me to get up any earlier?  Then I remembered that with the fruit and the filling of the Holy Spirit you can do things you never thought you could.  This was not Beth Moore’s message to me. I wasn’t getting up for her! I was getting up to meet with God. I knew that was the message for me. So after months of wining about how early I had to get up and how tired I was, on 1st February 2010, instead of getting up at 4-45am, I started getting up at 4-15am. By the end of the week, the extra half hour, wasn’t enough. I wanted more time with God, so I started getting up at 4am, then 3-45am. Now three years later, Monday to Fridays, I set my alarm for 3-35am. I get up, get dressed, feed the cat, make tea and have an hour in quiet time with God.

Since my conversion in 1979, it is the single biggest spiritual experience I have had. It has changed my life. God in His mercy meets with me and strengthens and sustains me for the day ahead.  Whatever I am facing, I find His grace is enough. In the quietness of the early morning, I find myself refreshed and revived, energised and filled with peace. He never lets me down. He is always there.

Yes! He is awake at 3-35am!

Over the weekend, I miss my early morning starts. I keep up with my Bible reading, but I do sleep in and don’t pray as much. What was interesting was that several months into 2010, after I had been doing this a while, I started hearing comments. Listeners would say they had noticed a change in me. That was amazing. But what was even more amazing was my husband said he had seen a change in me. To get the fruit and the filling of the Holy Spirit you have to spend time with God and when you do, that fruit is more apparent. There is more love, more joy, more peace, more patience, more kindness, more gentleness, more goodness, more faithfulness and self-control. That’s what God does. It’s worth the sacrifice of sleep, the sacrifice of some weekday evenings out and the habit of getting to bed earlier. It works for radio presenters and it works for housewives. Whatever you do, it will work for you! God is God. He does not change.  All you have to do is get up a bit earlier and start spending time talking to Him and reading His Word. Your life will never be the same again!

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand

And now! I am off to make soup! God bless you loads!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂