5:16 Club, Day 8 - Shall we live by principle?

Did you know that the difference between a principle verse a rule is very subtle? For example, a principle may be defined as "a guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct" compared to a rule defined as "the customary or normal circumstance, occurrence, manner, practice, quality, etc." The definition of law, on the other hand, is culmination of both, "a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience, concepts of natural justice, or the will of a deity."

As Christians, I think we all to easily misrepresent principles and rules for laws. Likewise, we tend to water down laws (Biblical, moral, and governmental), into merely principles or rules! Most of us, in our effort to be better people and better Christians, twist and turn God's commands to make them easy on us, and yet are just as guilty of making up rules that simply don't exist. This is the great risk of seeking success in any spiritual discipline. If our heart's motive is to be more holy, just so we can pronounce our own holiness, we are destined to fail and to hurt ourselves, others, and the Lord in the process. We must seek to be holy because the Lord instructs, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."( 1 Peter 1:15-16).

Rising before dawn, at 5 whatever am, in order to spend time with the Lord and get an early, quiet, solitary start on the day, is certainly a pursuit of holiness, but it is also a spiritual discipline that can easily become a law rather than a principle. It is quite easy to put off others, head to bed early, and forsake the fellowship God longs for us to have with our family and friends, in pursuit of holiness. Yet, how is living so strictly according to this principle being the hands and feet of Christ to those around us? In essence, we take our gaze off of Christ, and instead solder it to the hour of the day and lifestyle we've determined is right, or the most holy.

I was up until almost midnight last night, arriving home from a school meeting around ten, an hour after I wanted to be in bed, and I stayed up even later to spend time with my loved ones. I could have responded to the legalistic longings in my heart, announcing, "I have to go to bed. I must arise at 5:16 to be with the Lord." But I felt a gentle whispering of Christ reminding me of a truth I often declare to my little ones, "People are more important than things." In this case, the time was more wisely invested sharing love with my family then sleep in my bed.

As I hit the pillow, I doubted I would wake this morning for my meeting with the Lord. The alarm was set and I was prepared. Can you believe that it was the first time I actually heard it at exactly 5:16. My head was turned toward the clock and as soon as my eyes opened, I saw the bright red numbers blaring at me. Even though I was wide awake, I hopped up, hit snooze, and climbed back in bed. It was a lesson in both God's grace and His strength. I thought I ought to be tired on such little sleep, and opted to live by principle instead of law, giving myself the chance for a bit more shut eye with a determination to get up early tomorrow instead. But as I lay there restlessly, I felt the battle between peace verse sleep begin again. Peace won out! And so off I headed to the coffee pot by 5:20 this morning.

My morning time is now ending, as the needs of the family are ready to be answered. Amazingly, I am not tired (as much as I think I should be), and I do feel God's peace. The time in the Scripture and in prayer fills me up like nothing else. I am trusting God for His full measure of strength as I face the day ahead. I've already asked Him to order it all, and so while my list is long, I'm prepared to see little of it accomplished leaving room for a slower pace, hopefully an afternoon catnap, and the joy of knowing God's has given me all that I could ever ask or imagine. It certainly reminds me of the truths I read in Scripture this morning. Let me leave you with some of the verses from Psalm 104 to meditate on, for they truly remind us that God's ways are perfect and that He is our Wonderful Provider!

Psalm 104

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent

³ and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.

⁴ He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

⁵ He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

¹³ He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:

¹⁵ wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

²³ Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

²⁴ How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.

²⁶ There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

²⁷ These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

²⁸ When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

³⁰ When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

³⁵ But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

Because of Him,