Light in the Morning

Sometimes I struggle with how much to prioritize time spent in the early morning with God. I know sleep is important for functioning and when tired with young children or waking through the night with a newborn it makes it harder to get up in time for those extra precious quiet moments in the Word before the day comes marching in. 

Whether it's in the early morning, during nap time, or in the evening those meeting times with God are a rich treat and as necessary for functioning as precious sleep. I'd like to share a couple recent insights I found from those precious encounters with God's word.

I love when I find pictures and pointers to Christ all throughout the Old Testament. (Something I starting seeing lots of at Insight) In the early days of October I was reading from the book of Numbers. Numbers 30 lays out the laws about woman making vows and how the husband and fathers can make void the vow while she is in his house. These words sort of chaff against some of my unconscious thoughts from our feminist culture. I think Abba gave these commands partly because in order to have peace and order someone needs to have the final say so if a wife or daughter makes a vow the husband or father is not happy about he can undo it. But maybe also this is a beautiful analogy of what God does as our Husband and Father. The passage talks about a woman making a binding oath to afflict herself. (vs.13) Each of us afflicts ourselves by sinning and thus are bound by law to death but Christ intervened and nullifies our word and our sin so that we don't need to suffer the affliction we've brought upon our own self. Verse 15: "But if he makes them null and void..then he shall bear her iniquity." Thank you Lord for speaking on my behalf, bearing my iniquity and rescuing me from the mess I've made for myself. These laws apply to the woman who is in her fathers house...if she is divorced or widowed her own words bind her. (vs.9) Thus, while I'm with Abba my Father his words protect me but if I leave the authority and protection of my Heavenly Father than my own words condemn me.

Another reflection: 
After a battle against Midian, Eleazar the priest tells the men God's law regarding purification. Numbers 31:23 "..everything that can stand the fire [gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin and lead] you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water." Abba, I want to be purified completely but I cannot withstand the fire of hell so you've washed me with the water of baptism. Christ alone is pure and perfect enough to withstand the flame and He did and yet still he was baptized to fulfill the whole law. You kept Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego from burning in the fiery furnace and you can preserve each of your own from burning in the flames. Thank you Abba! You are holy and good!