Starting the Day With Nothing But Gratitude

 LORD JESUS!

Today, I am just so thankful, so grateful.

When I woke up this morning, I woke up at a more normal time, as I used to in the past.

Instead of struggling with sleep and waking up groggy at 4am or 5am, I woke up at about 7:45am.

WOW! This has been pretty consistent for the past week. AMEN! 

For the last year and a half, I have struggled with sleep. It started in late 2019, when I found myself going to bed earlier and earlier. I was just tired a great deal.

Then I found myself getting up at 2am, 3am, 4am. It was really bad. There were days that I just felt like a zombie going through the day. My "time clock" was off, so to speak.

For the last two weeks, though, I have been receiving a greater, fuller revelation that Jesus has taken care of everything. I understand more fully what it means to grow in grace, to understand His unmerited favor. God is at work in my life, not because I have done or am doing something, but because He is at work and doing everything.

When we rest in Him, He works in us. AMEN! YES!

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

This is no fantasy. This is not something that I have to work on to make sure that He keeps working. 

WOW!

And so, I am waking up with greater gratitude than I ever have before. I know that I am not stepping into this world on my own. I am not trying to create the day for me. I know that He is my Perfect Peace (Isaiah 26:3), and everything is taken care of.

That has taken a great deal of the weight off my shoulders. I no longer feel tired. I know longer dread waking up in the face of some considerable challenges or demands on my time.

And I sleep better. There is no longer this nagging voice in the back of my head that is telling me "Don't forget to do this!" and "Don't forget to do that," and so on.

This is really something.

Even today, I found that I had a little trouble going to sleep, but I did not worry about it. I know that the next day, this day, did not depend on me and my mood. That took so much of the strain off of me. Thank you, Jesus!

And even this morning, as I was getting ready for the day, I was just thanking God for this beautiful home where I live. I pay below market rent in a great city, in a very good climate. While so many people complain about the weather or the price of housing or the cost of living, I am nothing but blessed.

THANK YOU JESUS!