A man, who wasn’t really a morning person at all was reading his paper early one morning at the breakfast table.
His wife came over to him and patted him on the shoulder. She looked at him, smiled, and said, “I bet you don’t know what today is, do you?”
He looked at her and said, “Of course I know what day it is!” and went back to reading his paper.
He didn’t have a clue, but he was afraid that he would make his wife upset because… she was really sensitive about special occasions.
He thought to himself, “Is it her Birthday? That must be it.” So… after he got to work, he called the florist and had a bouquet of white roses sent to his wife.
Then as the day went on, he began worrying that flowers may not be enough for such an important day. “What if it’s our anniversary?”
So at lunch… he went to the jewelry store down from his office, picked out a beautiful tennis bracelet and had it special delivered to his wife.
As he started home from work he decided that maybe he should also stop and buy an expensive box of chocolates to bring to her… just in case.
He pulls into the driveway and his wife runs out to greet him. As he gets out of the car and presents her with the box of chocolates, she throws her arms around him and says,
“Oh, honey, this is the best GROUNDHOG DAY I’ve ever had!”
Not many were celebrating Groundhog Day this year. Just an FYI, I did not see my shadow this past Sunday morning when I got up… so… only 4 more weeks of this sermon series.
Just kidding, only 2 weeks… today and next week and then we will have this series, “Every Thought Captive” wrapped up. And today, we are tackling this idea of “winning the morning”.
How we start our day, will often set the tone for the rest of the day. Or as the great Theologian and Philosopher, Kendall Wildey often said…
“Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.”
- Kendall Wildey
If you ever worked with Kendall in school or ever had him as a student, then you’ve heard him say this. Now… I don’t know if He knows that he was actually being biblical or not… but he kinda was… I will show you how as we go along.
But first… I want to take a little quiz this morning. How many of consider yourself to be a morning person?
Some of you wake up energized, coffee in hand, ready to conquer the day before the sun is fully up. You wake up kind of like you’re Curly McClain in the musical Oklahoma… “Oh what a beautiful morning… Oh what a beautiful day.”
Now… How many of you are not morning people at all? You’re the type of person that believes that mornings are proof of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the garden of Eden.
Like, there are three major curses of their sin. 1. Is physical death. 2 is labor pains for women. And 3. Mornings… and not necessarily in that order.
Here’s the thing: we all have this sorta theology of mornings, whether we realize it or not. What do you believe mornings are for? What do you do first? What… or who… gets your attention before anything else?
And how do you respond when someone else’s “theology of mornings” looks very different from yours?
This matters, because how we begin the day often shapes how we interpret everything that follows.
Your routine reveals your beliefs. And when someone else’s morning routine… or “theology of mornings”… differs from yours, how do you respond?
With grace? With judgment? With comparison? Mornings are not just about schedules. They’re about formation. What we do in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.
Like we’ve talked about a few times during this series, when we wake up in the morning, what do we do? Do we immediately reach for our phones or do we get into the word?
I’d like to tell you I’m really good at getting up in the morning and diving right into my devotional time… but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes that doesn’t happen till later in the day when I get to the office.
I’m trying to do a better job implementing each day in the morning is this… “Scripture over screens”. Not that screens are always evil… some good can come form them… in their proper place.
But what happens when we hit our phones before anything else, we see this never-ending cycle of bad news.
Just the first three stories I saw this morning on my feed were related to all the turmoil surrounding ICE. The Epstein files. And the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mom.
Then if we get on social media, we start comparing, judging, complaining… etc… and the day is tarnished before you ever leave the house.
Today in our text, we are going back to one of the darkest times in Israel’s history. It’s found in the book of Lamentations and Jeremiah the prophet is mourning over the nation…
because they have been completely destroyed and carried off into Babylonian captivity.
The fall of Jerusalem was not just a military defeat; it represented a theological crisis for the Jewish people. The destruction of the temple was seen as a sign of God's judgment and abandonment.
I think this context is crucial for understanding the deep sorrow and lament expressed in Lamentations, because it shows the people's struggle to reconcile their faith with their devastating circumstances.
And that’s hard to do sometimes. Let’s look at Lamentations 2:5-12…
Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel
like an enemy.
He has destroyed her palaces
and demolished her fortresses.
He has brought unending sorrow and tears
upon beautiful Jerusalem.
6 He has broken down his Temple
as though it were merely a garden shelter.
The Lord has blotted out all memory
of the holy festivals and Sabbath days.
Kings and priests fall together
before his fierce anger.
7 The Lord has rejected his own altar;
he despises his own sanctuary.
He has given Jerusalem’s palaces
to her enemies.
They shout in the Lord’s Temple
as though it were a day of celebration.
8 The Lord was determined
to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem.
He made careful plans for their destruction,
then did what he had planned.
Therefore, the ramparts and walls
have fallen down before him.
9 Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground.
He has smashed their locks and bars.
Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands;
her law has ceased to exist.
Her prophets receive
no more visions from the Lord.
10 The leaders of beautiful Jerusalem
sit on the ground in silence.
They are clothed in burlap
and throw dust on their heads.
The young women of Jerusalem
hang their heads in shame.
11 I have cried until the tears no longer come;
my heart is broken.
My spirit is poured out in agony
as I see the desperate plight of my people.
Little children and tiny babies
are fainting and dying in the streets.
12 They cry out to their mothers,
“We need food and drink!”
Their lives ebb away in the streets
like the life of a warrior wounded in battle.
They gasp for life
as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.
So here’s the first thing we learn today…
1. When the morning is dark, be honest with God.
When we turn to Lamentations, we are not stepping into a calm devotional moment… we are stepping into complete devastation.
Jerusalem has fallen… Homes are destroyed… Families are shattered… The future feels uncertain.
Jeremiah surveys the wreckage, and what he does next is important: he speaks honestly to God.
There is grief. There is anguish. There is confusion. There is sorrow so deep it spills out in words that almost sound accusatory.
And so… What stands out in these verses is not just the pain… but the freedom with which Jeremiah brings it to God. He doesn’t sanitize his language. He doesn’t pretend things are fine. He doesn’t rush past the pain to get to hope.
He lingers in this lament.
Let me ask you a question… If you were in this situation… Would you find it easy to be that honest with God?
For many people, the answer is no… and that’s not because they don’t believe in God. It’s often because: They were taught that faith means staying positive. They fear saying the “wrong thing”
Some think that doubt or frustration disqualifies them. Or they’ve learned to hide pain even in prayer… but Lamentations teaches us something vital: God invites honesty
Jeremiah shows us that lament is not the opposite of faith… it is faith refusing to let go of God even in the middle of pain.
I think it’s important… when you’re going through it… to start your day by being honest with God… even in the midst of very difficult times.
Imagine your child who has been hurt… really hurt. They come into the room with tears streaming down their face. Their voice is shaky. Their words come out messy and unfiltered.
They don’t pause to compose themselves. They don’t say, “I’m fine.” They don’t worry about sounding polite. They say exactly what they feel.
And no loving parent looks at that child and says,
“Come back when you’ve calmed down.” “Fix your tone first.”
“Use better words.”
You don’t do that because you love your child and so you lean in closer. That’s what Jeremiah is doing in Lamentations.
He’s not walking away from God. He’s running toward Him—with tears, with questions, with words that tremble on the edge of accusation.
He brings his grief to God because he believes God is strong enough to hold it. That’s what lament is.
Lament says, “I don’t understand this… but I’m still talking to You.” “I’m hurting… but I’m not leaving.”
And that’s why lament isn’t the absence of faith.
It’s faith with tears in its eyes… maybe the most faithful thing you can do is exactly what Jeremiah does: Start the day by telling God the truth.
Not the cleaned-up version. Not the church version. The real one.
Because God doesn’t ask you to be strong before you come to Him. He invites you to be honest.
Life is difficult… and our world knows how to make sure we don’t forget it. We live in a culture that constantly pulls our attention toward darkness:
24-hour news cycles, Social media outrage, Fear-based headlines, constant comparison and criticism… We wake up and are immediately reminded of what’s broken.
And over time, this shapes us. So when the darkness feels overwhelming, how do we tend to respond?
Some people turn inward with sadness or hopelessness or withdrawal.
Others turn outward with anger, blame, or frustration.
Still others shut down emotionally with distraction, busyness or just by becoming numb.
And just to be clear… none of those reactions make you weak… they make you human.
But the question isn’t whether we feel these things. The question is where do we take them? Do we carry them alone? Do we unload them everywhere except with God?
Or do we, like Jeremiah, bring our unfiltered emotions before the Lord? God will never ask us to pretend the darkness isn’t real.
He invites us to bring it into His presence.
So… when everything around you seems dark and even…
2. When the culture magnifies darkness, give your sorrow to God.
When you look at Lamentations 3:19-33… and I’m not going to read it all but I want to summarize what is happening here… just for time’s sake…
Jeremiah remembers the depth of his suffering and loss and admits how bitter and painful it has been.
He refuses to forget the pain, but instead of letting it define him, he chooses to remember something greater: the faithful love of the Lord.
God’s mercy has not run out; it is renewed every morning, and His faithfulness remains steady even in grief.
Because of this, the writer places his hope in the Lord, trusting Him as his portion and inheritance.
He affirms that God is good to those who seek Him and depend on Him, and that waiting quietly on the Him… though it’s difficult…is ultimately good.
Even discipline, silence, humility, and endurance have purpose, because suffering is never the final word.
The passage ends with assurance: God does not abandon His people forever. Though He allows grief, His compassion is greater, and His heart is not to harm but to restore. Suffering is real, but it is temporary; God’s love is constant and unfailing.
After Jeremiah pours out his pain, something shifts. You see… the circumstances don’t change… but his focus does. He remembers.
He remembers God’s character, His compassion, His faithfulness, His sufficiency
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23
That statement matters. Jeremiah doesn’t say, “Because things got better.” He says, “Because God is faithful.”
Then comes one of the most powerful truths in all of Scripture:
“His mercies are new every morning.” This means:
Yesterday’s mercy doesn’t have to sustain today. Today’s failures don’t disqualify tomorrow. God meets us fresh, again and again
Remembering who God is doesn’t erase grief… but it gives us ground to stand on while we grieve. So how do we remember these truths when the darkness feels close?
Often, it begins with how we start our mornings. We have to “win the morning”.
3. What we do each morning matters.
Let’s get very practical. Again… What is the first thing you usually do when you wake up? Check your phone? Scroll social media? Read the news? Jump straight into emails or responsibilities?
Those habits don’t just inform you… they form you.
If the first voice you hear every morning is fear, urgency, or comparison, it’s no surprise when anxiety follows you throughout the day.
Now imagine a different posture. What if the first thing you did—even briefly was… a prayer of surrender… a moment of gratitude
a Scripture that re-centers your heart… silence that reminds you God is present
These practices don’t magically fix everything… but they reorient us. They help us start the day grounded in truth instead of reacting to the chaos.
What we do each morning matters… more than we often realize.
Research consistently shows that the way we begin our day shapes our mental health, emotional resilience, and productivity.
Psychologists have found that people who practice intentional morning routines report lower stress levels and greater overall well-being. In other words, mornings don’t just start our day… they set the tone for it.
But this isn’t just a psychological reality; it’s a spiritual one.
Take the story of Maria, a single mother juggling responsibilities that never seem to slow down. She didn’t overhaul her entire life… she simply became intentional with her mornings.
She woke up a little earlier, spent a few quiet moments in prayer, ate a nourishing breakfast, and took a short walk.
Over time, she noticed something change. The chaos didn’t disappear, but her posture toward the day did. She felt more centered, more focused, and better equipped to face challenges with hope rather than exhaustion.
Her story reminds us that small, intentional choices made early can shape everything that follows.
David understood this long before modern research ever confirmed it. In Psalm 5:3 he writes, “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”
David recognized that mornings were not just a part of a day… they were an opportunity to align his heart with God before the demands of the day spoke louder.
And here’s where this leads us: if what we do each morning matters this much, then mornings are not random or accidental. They are purposeful.
Which brings us to our next truth…
4. God has a will for each morning.
God doesn’t merely give us days…He invites us into them with intention. The small, we choose at the start of the day are not just habits; they are acts of alignment.
When we prioritize God in the morning, we cultivate gratitude, clarity, and purpose that carry us through whatever lies ahead.
Winning the morning isn’t about control… it’s about surrendering first. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says…
Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
As we close, this Scripture gives us a clear picture of God’s will. Rejoice always, Pray continually, Give thanks in all circumstances.
Notice how ordinary this is. God’s will isn’t limited to major life decisions… it shows up in daily routines.
Imagine what it would look like to make these priorities part of your mornings:
Rejoicing… not because everything is easy, but because God is near. Praying… not necessarily formally, but honestly. Giving thanks intentionally for all that God has done, does, and will do.
I believe this kind of morning changes how we carry ourselves through the day.
Jeremiah reminds us that it’s okay to wake up in grief.
It’s okay to feel heavy. It’s okay to bring questions with us into the morning. But we don’t wake up alone.
God’s mercies are new every morning… not because life is predictable, but because God is faithful. Each day is an invitation:
To be honest
To remember who God is
To begin again
And maybe today, would be a good morning for you to decide to do that, not just today… but each day of your life.
This morning would be a great day to enter into that life changing relationship with Jesus.
