| The Best Things in Life |
Chapter 16 |
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The programme for the day should always open with a prayer. In one of the Hebrew Psalms we have a suggestion of the way we should begin each morning. The first petition of this old liturgy is, “Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning.” This is a prayer that the first voice to break upon our ears at the opening of the day shall be the voice of God. It is also a request that the first voice we hear in the morning shall be a cheerful one, a voice of hope, of joy, of loving kindness.
It is sad when the first sounds a child hears when wakening in the morning are sounds of anger, ill temper, blame, complaining. A gentle hearted mother takes pains that her child never shall be frightened or shocked by harsh or bitter words. She seeks to keep the atmosphere of her home, her baby’s growing place, sweet and genial. It is a great thing when the voice of God’s loving kindness falls upon our ears the first of all voices when we wake. It makes us stronger for the day to have God’s “Good morning” as our earliest greeting. It starts our thoughts in right channels to open our Bible and hear God’s word of command and Christ’s “Peace be unto you,” before any news of the day, or any earthly calls or greetings, break upon our ears. If the first thoughts of the morning are cheerful, heartening, encouraging, the day is brighter, sweeter, to its close.
It will be a great thing for us if we will take a new thought from God each morning, and let it be our guide, and inspire us for the day. We may be allowing our minds to run in unwholesome ways – ways of discontent, of envy, of meanness, or forgetfulness, of selfishness in some form or other. We travel in these tracks persistently. If we are ever gong to reach a beautiful and joyous Christian life, we must have these thought tracks vacated, fenced across, abandoned. The way to do this is to listen to God’s voice every morning, as we read his word and let it start our minds in new and better paths.
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