Early Morning WOAHs!!!

     Since moving back home for the summer, I have been struggling a lot with sleep. I am waking up super early and I often can't get back to sleep. During these times of being unable to sleep, I know that the Lord may want to speak to me. Laying awake is not always fun, especially on days like today when I was driving to Gerald R Ford International Airport at 5 am. However, these moments have been incredibly special. I know it can be annoying to experience sleep disturbances, but I have grown to appreciate these times. It is time when I can just lie down with thoughts that come to me. 

    These are some of the early morning WOAHs I have experienced this past week as I have struggled to sleep, but God used this time to fill me. These early morning WOAHs seem to be a way that God is transforming and renewing my mind to recognize my identity in him. These WOAHs may seem like simple truths, but they are powerful truths. 

Early Morning WOAHs

1. You are not a daughter of shame and condemnation, you are the daughter of the King of the world. I have kind of been operating from a place of shame the past month of school. It came from a place of trying to push through school while also being tired and easily irritable. I felt like I was just in a place of constantly shaming myself. I have developed these labels of myself over the course of the year as I struggled with very difficult stuff. The Lord made me realize that I was condemning myself more than he ever would. He does not condemn but sanctifies us by convicting us in love. The devil likes to attack us by saying "I can't believe you did that, you are (insert negative label here)". God likes to sanctify us through seeing where our heart is and reminding us who he is. One example would be the unforgiveness I have wrestled with over the past couple of years. God sees my pain from the people who hurt me, and he reminds me that he is my comforter, my strength, and that he is Lord over all including these people. Our identity as Children of God is not where we measure up to his expectations or requirements to be in a holy relationship with him, it is through what Jesus has done. 

2. One morning, I was reciting the beatitudes to myself, and I stopped on "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God". I thought of the fact that I saw God in the world around me on the walks I go on. God affirmed through this that my heart is pure even though I have struggled with a hardened heart. I have struggled with going through the motions rather than turning my heart to see God's work in this world. I realized through this that God works through the beauty of the world, myself and others. Having a pure heart is having the ability to see God in everything we do. It is being able to look around you, and just think Jesus is beautiful.  

3. You are made in the image of God. With this, I realized that God created me with such a compassionate heart. Having compassion is something I am good at, but showing compassion is something I have struggled in as I struggle to express my emotions sometimes. I deeply feel what others are feeling, but I struggle with expressing it as I have had challenges in the past with people yelling at me for having emotions. God is teaching me to appreciate the heart I have for others and not be afraid to show it to others. The Lord values your heart and your sensitivity. God values vulnerability with him and others.  

4. With being made in the image of God, I tried to figure out what I see in each of my friends. I felt like God challenged me to try to see and bring attention to my friends and how they are like God. Our original identity was being made like God in the image of God. I believe that it is not only how we may represent God in our physical selves, but also the character we possess. Now, we are not God because God is the highest King on this Earth, but God values us in the way he created us to be like him made in his image. With that, I was convicted to see how others who walk with God are like him. 

    Early morning WOAHs are something that we can embrace. I see the times I struggle to sleep being times when God can and will speak to us. God can meet us in our beds while we are struggling to sleep at 4 am just as much as he can meet us in a church or worship service. In fact, these 4 am moments with God are highly personal and beautiful moments I have personally had with him. Yes, sleep is important and ideal; however, in times of struggling to sleep, I see the beauty of praying and connecting to God. I see how just quieting our thoughts can be so important, and this time can be used to hear God and connect with him.