Active Theology

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11, ESV)

I try to wake up before my kids are awake. After being a parent for four years, I’ve realized that making time for myself in the morning makes a difference. Sometimes it means allowing myself 20 minutes to get ready on my own. Other times I read, clean up the mess in the kitchen that I neglected from the night before, or sometimes I just lay in bed and enjoy a quiet house for 15 minutes. Whatever takes place, I find that I’m a better version of myself because of that alone time. 

It’s not always perfect, though. There are times when I just can’t get myself out of bed in a timely manner. On those days, I’m woken up by the sound of our 9-month old crying out for us, the 2-year old incessantly repeating, “daddy, daddy, daddy…”, or our 4-year old standing in our bedroom doorway asking if I’ll come play.  

But there’s something more important than starting the day with some “me time”. We can’t forget that God needs to have first priority in our day. 

When I was in college, I was part of a campus ministry that put a big emphasis on quiet time happening in the morning. The purpose of this rhythm is to make God, prayer, and His Word the launching point of the day. I absolutely agree that morning is a great time to spend time with God. But, I will say that seasons come and go, so we must pursue a daily time with God no matter the time of day. Spending time with God is the most important detail.

Paul’s words at the end of Ephesians speak directly to the importance of staying close to God. Every day we wake up and enter a battle, whether we know it or not. I don’t think we naturally think about the spiritual realm. Scripture is honest that there are spiritual forces wanting to take our attention and devotion away from God. One of the best things we can do, in order to create a line of defense, is spend time with God and put on “spiritual armor”. This means meditating on the truths found in Scripture, reminding ourselves of the righteousness given to us through Christ, and keeping our faith strong in order to extinguish spiritual attacks, and so on. I encourage you to read through Ephesians 6:10-20 to get the full picture of what this looks like. 

Instead of striving for some “me time”, let’s make the time to be with God. 

This week, I plan to make mornings with God a priority. Will you join me?

Pray: God, thank you for Your Word. Thank you for Your presence. I recognize that I need You every day. I pray, as I meet with You daily, that I would put on the “spiritual armor” and stand strong in who You are and who You’ve made me to be. Thank you that I can stand strong in the gospel as my firm foundation. Amen. 

Song: “In Christ Alone” by Kings Kaleidoscope

Craig is a worship pastor at Wallula Christian Church and the creator of Active Theology. He loves coffee dates with his wife, reading, and riding his bike. A few of his favorite things are third wave coffee, vanilla ice cream, and plain t-shirts.