Do you ever wake up before your alarm clock goes off for no apparent reason? You’re wide awake an hour or two before you have to be and it’s not because you’re stressed out or worried about a presentation, a doctor’s visit or a loved one. You just stare at the ceiling trying to figure out why you can’t go back to sleep.
That has happened to me countless times. I used to toss and turn and huff and puff, frustrated with my lack of ability to fall back asleep. That is until I ran across 1 Kings 19:11-12 “The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
I realized I had been asking God to reveal Himself to me about the time I started waking up. In my mind’s eye, I saw God revealing Himself to me through a miracle where I’d be standing there with my chin to the ground astounded by what I had just witnessed, but God doesn’t like to show off. Don’t get me wrong…He can, He just chooses not to. He is more subtle, to ensure we’re really pursing Him.
Deuteronomy 4:29 says we will find the Lord when we look for Him with all our heart and with all our soul. He is not a three-ring circus act for us to be impressed with; He is a living God who seeks relationship. Sometimes the only time the Lord can obtain our undivided attention is in the stillness of the morning.
The next time you wake up for no apparent reason way before your alarm clock goes off, choose to respond like Abraham did in Genesis 22:1. The moment God called his name; his response was “Here I am.” Abraham was available, listening and expectant. He didn’t want to miss out on anything God had to say. How will He find you?