Before the crowds came.
Before the disciples needed direction.
Before the miracles and teaching and demands of the day…
Jesus got up.
Mark tells us that “very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
The Son of God did not begin His day reacting to people.
He began His day with the Father.
That detail is easy to overlook, but it reveals something profound about leadership.
Jesus did not wake up early to be productive.
He woke up early to be positioned.
Before speaking to crowds, He prayed.
Before leading others, He aligned with His Father.
If the Son of God chose to meet with God before sunrise, that is enough reason for me.
For years I wanted consistent mornings with the Lord, but my days often began in reaction. The house would wake up, responsibilities would pile in, and before long I was leading my family from whatever emotional or mental state I had woken up in.
It wasn’t a lack of love for God.
It was a lack of structure.
Everything changed when I began setting my alarm with intention, waking up when it went off, and meeting with Jesus before the noise of my home began.
Something shifts when you wake up and start your day with God.
Your heart becomes steadier.
Your thoughts become clearer.
Your leadership becomes calmer.
Because you are no longer drifting into the day.
You are rising into it.
Women who lead their homes don’t drift into their days.
They meet with Jesus first.