When I was stationed in Okinawa some years ago, I woke up early in the morning…long before it was time for me to go to work. At first, I thought something was wrong so I went to medical and told them what was happening. I got a clean bill of health…and more mornings that started at 4am. Eventually I realized that perhaps I should be praying. Sometimes I would manage to stay awake but most mornings I would slump over and wake up later in the morning and then get ready for work. Hindsight is 20/20 and in hindsight, I wish I had just gone without the sleep, because all those mornings I slept in were mornings I could have prayed and stayed in the presence of God. And the season following my drowsiness was tough. Perhaps I would have navigated it differently had I already strengthened myself through that time with God.
Fast forward to now and the same thing is happening – except that my wake up time is 3am now. I get up at 4am anyways. But 3am! I wanted to cry because I knew from experience what was happening. Yet, I also knew it means that God is calling me to spend that time with him. Perhaps there’s another rough season ahead. But I know for sure that there are still desires to be fulfilled, destinies to be manifested and dreams to become reality. When I count everything that I’m still believing for, a 3am wake up call doesn’t seem so bad.
So many of us want the move of God in our lives. We want our lives to reflect the glory of God. We get jealous when we see it in someone else’s life. But when we hear the cost they paid to have it, we balk. We tap-dance. We back up and give all the reasons that we can’t afford the cost. I’m not saying that the Lord may be calling you to fellowship with him at 3am before the start of a long day (like me) but what IS he asking you to give up for now? I can assure you that whatever it is, the reward you’ll receive far outweighs the cost you paid.
I still struggle to stay awake during my early mornings. But through that struggle I know that the reward will outweigh the cost. I know that when God asks me to give something up, it’s for a gain down the road. And so I want to encourage you (if God is asking you to give something up) that you may feel the pain of what you’re giving up. But in the end you will count it worthy of the reward.
