62 - At midnight I will rise
to give thanks unto thee because of
thy righteous judgments.
What an arresting verse! At midnight, he rose to give thanks.
I stay up late for pleasure, travel, work, to care for family. How often have I deliberately arose at midnight to have a praise session? The thought of it is pretty incredulous.
What if your pastor announced on Sunday morning, "I am asking all of you to be here at midnight tonight for a time of praise and thanksgiving!"?
What if you informed your household, "Tonight we are going to set our alarms for midnight and we are going to all get up and sing and praise the Lord!"?
What if you set your own alarm and privately declared to God, "I have an appointment with you at midnight, Lord. I'm just going to take some time to thank you for your goodness and your grace."?
Really? Every one of us would probably say, "I love Him. I worship Him. I thank Him for all He has done. But I can do that in my waking hours...I don't have to take time from my rest to do that. After all, He is the one who created night for sleep, day for work, Sabbath for rest..." Oh we have our logic down pat.
Song of Solomon, chapter 5
2 - I sleep, but my heart waketh:
it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying,
Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled:...
3 - I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?...
6 - I opened to my beloved;
but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone:
my soul failed when he spake:
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
"God consume all of me.
Don't let me put You in a slot or a category,
a season or a pattern.
Disrupt my schedule with your Word.
Don't let times or seasons or preconceived notions
of what You delight in or require
prevent me from
missing your knock at my door."
© 2012 by Melani Brady Shock
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