While reading the book of Exodus during my morning devotions, I recently noticed a detail that escaped me in my prior reading and study of the Book. (Incidentally, that is one of the marvelous benefits of reading and re-reading God’s word. It provides endless insight. Since its ultimate author is eternal, so are its’ lessons. The Bible does not change, but we do. And as we mature, previously hidden layers of truth reveal themselves to the sensitive spirit). The first half of the book shares the scintillating story of how God used a stammering ex-murderer to miraculously lead his people from more than four centuries of oppression to freedom.

Their journey was not without difficulty, and their chief difficulty was the leader of the nation that had enslaved them, Pharaoh king of Egypt. God warned Moses that Pharaoh would not let his people go, and that he would have to unleash a series of increasingly devastating disasters to finally soften his hardened heart and force him to comply with God’s will. The story provides us with a front row seat as we watch Moses and Pharaoh perform a ballet that has fascinating the attention of the ages.

What I saw this week that had escaped my notice in previous readings was an instruction that God repeatedly gives Moses. He tells Moses to go talk to Pharaoh early in the morning. This instruction is first mentioned in Exodus 7:15:

…go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there...

Then again in Exodus 8:20

…Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river…

And then again in Exodus 9:13

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.

After noticing this pattern, a few thoughts presented themselves:

1. God knew Pharaoh’s schedule.

2. Pharaoh was an early riser.

3. Since God wanted Moses to get something from Pharaoh, he had to be up as early as Pharaoh was.

Now of course Pharaoh did not grant any of Moses’s requests, but it is noteworthy that in order to have a conversation with him, Moses was instructed to wake up early.

The key takeaway from this apparently insignificant detail in this grand tale is that history-makers, game changers, and opinion-shapers tend to wake up very early. Pharaoh couldn’t stay in bed all day—he had an empire to manage. And I think that the not-so subtle message that God was trying to give Moses and to us—is that to make a dent in the universe, you probably can’t stay in the bed all day.

There are a wealth of anecdotes that exist that support this truth, but let me offer a few.

Consider this African proverb:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle, or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.

Also consider the testimony of a famous basketball player who once asked Kobe Bryant to train him. Kobe said sure—”meet me at the gym at 4.” The next day, the disgruntled gentlemen cornered Kobe in the Laker locker room and asked him why he didn’t show up. Kobe glared at him without breaking a smile and said “I meant 4AM.”

Finally, consider an observation made in Mark 1:35 about our Lord and Master:

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

I could go on and on. There is considerable evidence that points to the fact that history-makers, game changers, and opinion-shapers wake up early.

Have you ever wondered why they call it rush hour?

Perhaps you should try to wake up a little earlier. There might be a few worms worth catching.