An Early Choice

“At daybreak, Lord, you hear my voice; at daybreak I please my case to You and watch expectantly.” (Psalm 5:3)

There aren’t that many people, or so it seems, who witness daybreak. People like their sleep, and with so much electricity and entertainment around, they like to stay up late. They say, “I just can’t seem to get up early for a devotional time.” Sometimes it may be “can’t,” but more often than not it’s “don’t really want to.” Yet, twice David mentions “daybreak” in the same verse. He recognized how exhilarating it can be to witness the daybreak with the Lord, to come before the Lord in the quiet and solitude of the early morning.

In his early morning devotions, David made two choices that impacted his day. You see it in the rest of Psalm 5, and, in fact, it’s repeated twice. His first choice is to reject evil opportunities he would encounter in the day. He was determined that he would not stand with those who delight in wickedness and lies and pride and bloodshed and other kinds of treachery.

His second choice was to walk with God in faithful love, giving the Lord the worship of his heart, standing before God in all His awesomeness, and committing himself to the Lord’s righteousness.

Whether you make it in time for daybreak or not, you might find that your days work a lot better when you choose early that you will not walk the paths of wickedness, and that you will walk the paths of fellowship with God’s Spirit. The earlier the better.

Lord, May each of us determine that we will make these choices early each day. Amen.