Tenderly, the arms reached out above the head with the fingers intertwined between the two hands and a soft groan was let out as the stretch served as the final wakeup call of the morning. Yes, the body was twisting towards the door as the feet were inserted into the sandals. Once secured the time had come to start the day.
While everyone was still secured in sleep, Jesus stepped away to the edge of the wilderness in Ephraim (John 11: 54 TPT) and His mind wandered back to His baptism with John. The first thing He did was to retreat to the wilderness after arising out of the water. Temptation came and went (Matthew 4:1 TPT). This morning the view below reminded Him of those first steps He took entering into His ministry.
But not to be denied, He rested and spoke with His Father above. The Spirit was drawing Him away to the feast once again and He knew His time was short. Jesus was grateful for His Father’s love. The cascade of colors erupted on the horizon as the valley lit up below! Oh how He loved the daily surprises God revealed in the sunrise!
One by one, the disciples opened up their eyes to the beams of warmth that compelled them to start their day. As if on cue the three joined Jesus on the point of rocks and sat with their legs draped over the edge. Today, was a day of coming travel. But one must not rush into it without spending a little prayer time first. Next, Andrew and Philip joined in the morning prayer and slowly the rest followed… eventually Judas Iscariot walked over as well.
The goal was to visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus before finally heading to Jerusalem for Passover. But as their visit commenced, news spread wide and fast bringing an assembly of people to come and see the walking dead and the One Who raised him up. At this the chief priests settled within themselves that Jesus needed to be eradicated before they lost control over Him and the people and their influence with Rome (John 12: 10-11 TPT).
But as the next day arose, the gatherers sprang into a time of exultation and praises as Jesus rode on a donkey passing them. This action caused panic to set in for the Pharisees: “The whole world has gone after Him! (John 12: 19 TPT)” With twisted ambition they would not let their sphere of influence slip away even if it meant this man had to be removed from the scene. But this was the way of the Lord, it was meant to fulfill the scriptures.
The son of perdition was setting his time to make a move.
One day at a time, Jesus took occasion to visit with the Father. The repercussions are still vibrating throughout time. As the Proverbs state: “laying your life down in tender surrender before the Lord will bring life, prosperity, and honor as your reward. Twisted and perverse lives are surrounded by demonic influence… ( Proverbs 22: 4-5a TPT).”
In your early mornings, take time to spend with the Lord. Even if it be a few short minutes, make them count. The amount isn’t as important as the attitude and quality. Sit, stand, kneel, or lay before the Lord, but the point is to get before Him. If Jesus found it necessary to spend time in prayer before the start of each day, how much more do we?
Godspeed, The Journeyman
John 11: 54 TPT “For this reason Jesus no longer went out in public among the Jews. But he went in the wilderness to a village called Ephraim, where he secluded himself with his disciples.”
Matthew 4:1 TPT “Afterward, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the lonely wilderness in order to reveal his strength against the accuser by going through the ordeal of testing.”
John 12: 10-11 TPT “This prompted the chief priests to seal their plans to do away with both Jesus and Lazarus, for his miracle testimony was incontrovertible and was persuading many of the Jews living in Jerusalem to believe in Jesus.”
John 12: 19 TPT “But the Pharisees were disturbed by. This and said to each other, ‘We won’t be able to stop this. The whole world is going to run after Him!’”
Proverbs 22: 4-5a TPT “Laying your life down in tender surrender before the Lord will bring life, prosperity, and honor as your reward. Twisted and perverse lives are surround ed by demonic influence…”
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