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White Balance

Getting up at 2:30 a.m. while working for FOX was rough. But the one thing that made such a difference was filling up first on the Word and promises of God before anything else. Scripture puts everything else in its place. My husband’s dad exemplified this for me. He spent mornings in quiet time, and I witnessed how being busy or even having to get up early was no excuse for not spending time in the Word. Who gets the first minutes of your heart each day? Who gets the last? These questions are important. 

When my alarm went off, the newsfeed was yelling for my attention. But I needed the good news before the hard news. This allowed me to hear what God was saying to me personally through the day and afforded me the blessing of keeping the good news as the first news. 

Before I even turned on my light on those early mornings, I crawled across the room with my glasses, my eyes to my phone, so I could read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (I learned that having my Bible and that devotional both in hard copy on the floor and electronically on my phone worked best for me). Those readings are what I balanced the rest of my day against. I needed a multifaceted way to make sure I could access the truth all day long. 

Videographers and photographers often achieve what is called white balance by holding a sheet of white paper or cardboard in front of the camera to get a look at the true white. Then all the other colors are balanced against it. 

My morning devotional and Bible reading was my white balance. Not just in case I needed it, but because I would definitely need it. I would need and want to see everything else’s color in the light of that Word. God’s Word is the light against which all else is weighed. The knowledge that some hard news was going to penetrate my mind and heart early and often, as the job required, created a need and discipline for me to fill up on the good news first. This habit, though I’m not in broadcasting anymore, is one I hope never to break. 

What do you find is the best time of day to have a habit of Bible or devotional reading? Why? How important is that balance, literally for you, as the day brings its challenges ( and it will!) to focus everything against the “white balance of God’s truth”?