Sometimes newborn babies get their mornings and evenings mixed up. They sleep all day and stay awake all night. This behavior often cycles back around when those babies turn into teenagers.

Most of us operate on the concept that the day begins when we wake up in the morning. As daylight disappears into the darkness of night, we perceive that the day is done.

But that’s not the way God sees it.

At the end of each of the six days of creation God said,
“And there was evening and there was morning—” in that order.

God wasn’t mixed up. That’s the way He intended it.

Based on Genesis 1, the Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday night at sundown, because that is the start of the new day. If we were to adopt this evening—morning format, the first thing we would do at the start of every day is go to bed. Rest. Do nothing. Trust that the world will carry on without us for a few hours. Then, we would continue the day by getting up and working, being productive, taking care of business.

Adam was created on the sixth day and given the assignment of tending a garden. But the new man didn’t get right to work the next day because the seventh day was for rest, declared to be holy. The first thing Adam did was rest and enjoy creation. God set it up this way because we have great value in His eyes based on who we are—created by God in His own image—not because of what we do. He loved us before we could accomplish anything.

Culture shouts:
“Get to work. Be efficient. Create output.”

God says,
“Start with rest. Trust Me to take care of you. Then go and do.”

It seems backwards.
Or maybe we’re the ones who have our days and nights,
I mean, nights and days, mixed up.

Evening, morning and noon, I will pray.
Psalm 55:17