God Through Our Day

December 10, 2024 | By Isaac Oberman DC ‘26

image description: shooting stars

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” 

Exodus 13:21

When I first sat down to write about time, the first image that came to mind was of my windowsill perch overlooking the Davenport courtyard. I come back to this spot every day, sit on top of the radiator covering, and look over the greenery. My favorite part about this spot is how the look outside the window changes. In the mornings, I look out on an empty lawn, with the early sunlight streaming through the window. When I come back to the dorm in the middle of the day, I look out and see students walking off to classes or sitting in the sun. At sunset, I watch the rays bathe Harkness Tower in hues of pink and orange. At night, I look out and see the fairy lights and students dressed nicely heading to parties, and friends sitting on benches catching up after a long day.

Each time I looked out, despite the changed perspective based on the sun’s position in the sky, I still saw the Davenport courtyard. Regardless of the golden sun, gray rain, dark shadows, or brilliant light, the essence of the courtyard remained the same. In the same way, despite agreement in faith in God, Christians tend to interact with God differently throughout our daily lives. In what ways do Christians’ views differ and in what ways are they the same?

With this question in mind, I developed a survey for Yale Christians to investigate the ways in which different Christians come to God throughout the day. Using the denominational and class years as filters, I was able to draw trends on data such as the time of day that individuals feel closest to or farthest from God, where they are when they feel close to God, and the kinds of activities that respondents engage in when looking for God. I then analyzed the trends and looked for correlations. While the data results were obtained from Christian responses and are then probably most helpful for other Christians,

MORNING: Beginning Anew

“In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;

In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”

Psalm 5:3

As dawn breaks across the horizon, so too do college students throw off their covers and wake with the sun. The data from the survey showed that a plurality of respondents felt closest to God in the morning time, between 5 and 10 AM. I am personally a big fan of the mornings; there is such a beautiful juxtaposition of rising out of bed as the sun rises into the sky. To me, connection with God makes good sense as the sun rises. The start of a new day calls to mind images of spring, of flowers blooming, and of new life. The rising of the sun also tends to lift my eyes up to the sky to dwell on God. When I wake up, I’m often reminded of the Psalmist’s morning song: “This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). The new day brings new challenges, but also so many new ways and new chances to thank God for the wonderful joy of experiencing life.

Survey respondents who thought of morning as the time they feel most connected to God had similar locations in mind. Most respondents who selected morning described the place as either their dorm room or their bed as they woke up before they left to start their day. A majority also expressed that they felt closest to God while engaging in prayer or personal worship. 

There is a great benefit to connecting with God at the beginning of one’s day. Before you go out into the world, to your classes and worries, taking time to connect with God can set the whole day right. The emotion that morning respondents overwhelmingly chose to describe the feeling of being close to God was Peace. Perhaps, seeking God before our day begins allows us to connect with Him and gain a sense of peace that will settle our anxious mind and sustain us throughout our daily troubles.

MIDDAY: Chaos of Doing

“At dusk, dawn, and noon

    I will grieve and complain,

    and my prayer will be heard.”

Psalm 55:18

In contrast to the morning, many of the respondents to the survey felt the most distant from God during the midday. In the midst of the busyness of the day, individuals get lost. Many people described getting absorbed running from activity to activity, class to class, or grinding through Psets. The emotions overwhelmingly chosen to describe the separation during midday were tiredness, feeling distracted, and busy.

The midday can teach us a valuable lesson in finding calm in the storm. Psalm 55:18 is a great reminder to me that when life is upsetting we can raise up our grievances and troubles, trusting that God is there to listen and help! A recent practice that I have taken to when feeling overwhelmed is praying the Serenity Prayer: asking God for “the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Taking 15 seconds to recenter oneself before returning to the task at hand can provide such a measure of peace and strength, making the previously insurmountable fear conquerable.

EVENING AND NIGHT: God Stills the Troubled Soul

“I think of you upon my bed,

I remember you through the watches of the night

You indeed are my savior,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.”

Psalm 63:7-8

Besides the morning, the times of evening and night were the most popular choices for respondents in connecting with God. I am combining them here due to the similar nature of their position in the day and the emotions that respondents associated with the times.

Those at night also seemed to connect with God in their room, but in addition, many felt their connection with God at church. I was also surprised by the type of activities that individuals talked about for feeling most connected at night. While I expected most individuals to connect more with other people in worship at night, most respondents expressed their deepest connection in prayer.

This matches a trend I noticed throughout much of the survey; individuals seemed to share that they felt most connected when they were feeling most alone. This trend makes sense, but it is something I would like to caution against. It seems that many people do not seek the deepest connection with God unless they have nowhere else to turn to. While God certainly provides comfort to those alone and in distress, it is important to remember that God is there in the best times as well. He will always be there for us, in sorrow and in joy.

PREDAWN: God Hears Us Always

“I rise before dawn and cry out;

 I put my hope in your words.”

Psalm 119:147

Not many students suggested that the predawn times were their preferred times of connection with God, most likely because that is one of the few times Yale students will be asleep. However, the Bible does have some words to share about this underrated time of the day. Predawn is a time of deep loneliness and quiet. In the midst of the dark and the still, we can oftentimes worry and fear. The verse from Psalm 119 gives us comfort though; we can put our hope into God’s words, and we can know a sense of peace. The one respondent who claimed Predawn as their closest time with God described the emotion felt as security and “not being alone.” The predawn reminds us that God is with us at ALL times; even at our lowest, he is there to lift us up, giving us hope in the dark. 

CONCLUSION

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

After reflecting on the data from the survey it is important to remember that, regardless of what time of day you personally connect with God the best or what the data from respondents says, we are all connecting with God. Scripture tells us of many ways in which God leads His people, at all times of the day. As expressed in the scripture at the start of this piece, God gave symbols to the Israelites to lead them through the desert as they fled persecution in Egypt. These means differed by the time of day; during the day God led His people with a pillar of clouds, and at night he lead them with a blazing pillar of fire. Though His guidance differed with the day, God was still there leading them. 

We are all seeking to find God in our everyday lives. Each of our experiences looks different, but that is more than okay. Just as Christ called the Jews and the Gentiles at different times and through different means, so too are each of us called to pursue God in different ways. That is just it though–even though our means and times of connection with God are different, we are all still connecting with God in our day. God is with us at all times of the day; sometimes we just need to look out the window and see. Looking back over the courtyard, we see the same courtyard in different lights. The goal is not to reject a view for being different from your preferred view, but to learn to see the beauty of the courtyard at all times of day. By talking with others and learning about the ways other Christians get closer to God day by day, we can work to walk and connect with God throughout our entire day, in golden sunshine or dark shadows.