“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5 (NLT)

Every morning when you wake up your first thought and the first words out of your mouth should be praise to God for His grace, goodness, and mercy. God desires to be found by you and when you seek Him with your whole being, you will find Him.

God’s word says that joy comes in the morning, but if you are not in the right place to receive it, you will miss it. God stands at everyone’s heart and knocks, but it is up to the individual if they will open the door to His love and joy.

Despite what has happened in your past, despite what is going on right now, and despite what you are afraid will happen in the future; make sure the first thing you do every morning is open the door for God to come in. When you allow God in, He will move mountains in your life, or He will give you the strength to climb them, but remember: He gives you exactly what you need exactly when you need it, so daily reliance upon God is mandatory.

Being dependent on God sounds scary, but in reality it is one of the most glorious adventures you will ever take. The more you depend on God, the brighter your outlook will become and the more positive your perspective in situations will be. To other people things will appear as mere chance or coincidence, but to you they will appear as miracles because of your close communion with God that began the moment you awoke as you let His joy into your life. The more you put in God’s hands the more you will see God’s hands at work in your life.

Seek first the kingdom is a familiar passage, but you must remember this means you are to seek God in the good times and the bad: especially the bad. Why God allows adversity, trials, and challenges into your life may seem unfair or a mystery, but all of these are opportunities to grow closer to God and experience new sides of Him you never knew before, so seize these opportunities. Your weakness is God’s strength, so praise Him for areas you are not good at. God’s grace is more than sufficient and His power is made perfect in your weakness.

God’s presence is so refreshing and in a world that attempts to steal us away from God, you must make sure God is first in your life. The things you watch, listen to, read, and spend your time doing fill your mind, so make sure they bring God glory. Growing up, I remember, people would always ask, “Would you do that if God was here?” Well He is everywhere, so everyone should always be asking themselves that question! God is always with you and together you can push back the darkness of this world because Christ in you is the light of this world!

When God is first in your life, when you start your day praising Him and inviting His joy into your life, and when you spend your time, talents, and treasures doing things which bring Him honor and glory, your life will be full and meaningful. Apart from God, it is impossible to do anything of eternal value and only God can turn sorrow into joy, only God can bring beauty out of ashes, and only God can turn a mess into a masterpiece. Learning to accept things means learning to trust God more; it doesn’t mean you settle; it means you rest in God’s faithfulness and absolute sovereignty. Learning to live in brokenness, whether if it’s spiritually or physically is impossible without God, but with Him, He will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

Feeling distant from God during these seasons is nothing more than a feeling; it is certainly not reality because God is with you wherever you go and He is constantly watching over you. You are precious in God’s eyes and when He sees you, He sees His Son in you and when you begin your day thanking God for that, your days will be much brighter and your eyes will be more open to all the wonderful things God is trying to do in your life.