Scripture Focus: Psalm 90.14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Reflection: A Flourishing Devotional Life
By John Tillman
Morning routines are important and are shaped by culture. Being in quarantine or some form of lockdown/work from home culture for 14 months has shaken up many people’s morning routines. How important is showering for a Zoom meeting?
Whether we start with a shower, a workout, reading, or the snooze button, how we spend our first 59 waking minutes affects the rest of our day. Our culture pushes us to maximize this time in monetizable ways. We often design habits that make our lives more productive and therefore profitable, but we don’t often design habits that make life more meaningful and therefore more satisfying.
One reason our morning routines may be unfulfilling is that they typically center on ourselves. Instead of focusing mostly on activities that are forms of self-investment, practicing daily rhythms that are rooted in Christ can take us beyond ourselves.
One way to open ourselves up is by praying for those few are praying for—the unlovable, the hated, the hurting, the unnoticed. We must lean into the love of Christ to supply ourselves with love for the unlovable and the hated. We draw up living water from the well of Christ, to pass on in Jesus’ name, to the hurting. We lift Christ’s light of truth, directing its caring spotlight on the unnoticed.
Jesus promised his followers a “rich and satisfying life.” This life only comes, however, to the sheep who learn the voice of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Jesus provides abundant joy and fulfillment which transcends the good days and bad days of life by helping us transcend our fixation with ourselves.
The psalmists are focused on being satisfied in God. Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses, pleads with God to “satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love.”
Spiritual rhythms don’t have to be practiced in the morning to be effective. In fact, we recommend integrating spiritual practices throughout your day. However, spiritual practices flourish when connected to actions that go beyond ourselves.
Scripture reading, prayer, and reflection on the character and nature of God each morning is time well invested. Actions growing from our faith should flow outward, into our community. A flourishing devotional life may have less to do with what you read when the sun comes up than what you have done about it before the sun goes down.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living. — Psalm 116.8
– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle
Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 7 (Listen – 4:13)
Psalm 90 (Listen – 2:03)
Read more about Well Equipped for Good or Bad
Spiritual disciplines allow the Holy Spirit to equip us for good and prepare us for bad.
Read more about Cultivation Requires Planning
We, in our pursuit of a deepening walk of faith, need to follow his example of supernatural cultivation.
