If you’ve been reading the Bible for a while, you’ve probably noticed that God sometimes does things in ways that don’t coincide with our expectations and natural inclinations. Beyond that, He has a tendency to direct us frail human beings to do things that exceed any capacity we have to actually do them . . . like that “love your enemies” thing that Jesus commanded, right?  And sometimes things that we might feel capable of doing are so contrary to our natural inclinations that they seem totally upside down and backwards.  So, in today’s post, we’ll take look at one of those. It’s one of God’s perspectives that all of us have the capacity to apply, but adopting it as a regular practice would probably seem rather weird. 

An Unexpected Approach ~
I’ll introduce the subject by asking how you’d respond if someone asked you when and how your normal workday gets started. If you’re like most of the rest of us, your answer would likely begin by telling them what time you generally get out of bed and get moving. Then, you might follow up by describing the activities that comprise your usual morning routine and the things you do that lead into your normal workday tasks. The specific procedures and how they’re aligned might change, but the overall procedure would probably be familiar to most of us. But . . . if we lived in the world Jesus lived in, our response would seem odd, because their day actually didn’t begin in the morning, like ours does. Their day began at sundown.

For me, when I first realized that, the idea seemed somewhat ludicrous. Having the day begin when the sun comes up just made sense. I figured days should start in the morning, when the world wakes up and everything starts moving, and they should end in the evening when you’re tired, hungry, and it’s getting dark. It was a mystery to me why God’s people, who were so clearly intelligent, would ever come up with such a strange way to deal with an issue that seems so simple. But the answer to that question wasn’t hard to find. They got the idea from the same place they got all their best ideas, and it’s a source that it never pays to argue with. 

The Source Revealed ~
This strange perspective actually came from God, Himself . The One who spoke light and darkness into being and divided them into blocks of time He called “days” and “nights” and He, of course, was the One who decided how to approach them. God described that initial creative process and its components like this: 

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:4–5 NKJV)

Evidently, God was pleased with His operational definition of what constituted a day because as other days followed, His descriptive phrase remained unchanged. At the close of each day, God presented a report of the creative work He had accomplished on that day, and wrapped up each report the same way. We may not be geniuses, but I think all of us notice that as that first week unfolded, a pattern of how God looked at days had definitely developed . . .

So the evening and the morning were the second day. (Genesis 1:8 NKJV)
So the evening and the morning were the third day. (Genesis 1:13 NKJV)
So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. (Genesis 1:19 NKJV)
So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (Genesis 1:23 NKJV)
So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31 NKJV)

God’s Perspective Reinforced ~
As we all know, the seventh day was set apart from the rest and we don’t see the same phrase applied to it in the initial creation record, but God didn’t change His approach. Many generations later, His perspective was reinforced in His instructions regarding the observance of the great Day of Atonement which included this: 

It [the Day of Atonement] shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest [referring back to the seventh day of creation], and you shall afflict your souls [i.e., humble yourselves]; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:32 NKJV)

So although it might seem strange to us Westerners as we try to absorb all that, God definitely likes to consider our days as beginning in the evening, not the morning. So, odd as it seems, it appears that the Jews actually got it right. But knowing that God prefers that approach still doesn’t tell us why He chose it. We do know, though, that the God we serve doesn’t do anything without a reason for doing it. And in light of that, looking for a “why” to go with the “what” regarding God’s perspective on how to approach and manage our days seems reasonable. And though I don’t claim any divine revelations, there’s a premise and a few suggestions I’d like to invite you to consider . . . 

A Potential Rationale ~
What if God’s approach had nothing to do with things we’ve come to obsess over, like clocks and calendars and how to cram more and more into our days? Maybe God looked ahead and figured that jumping out of bed, throwing on some clothes, gobbling down some food, and running out the door wasn’t the best way to equip us to engage a world full of forces that hate Him and all those who serve Him. Perhaps beginning our day with practices He loves and activities that help to strengthen us, enrich us, and make us more effective representatives of His Kingdom would be better in every way. 

• • For instance, “evening” is a time for rest and recuperation. The work God enabled us to do can leave us tired, hungry, and wanting to lay down our tools, leave it all behind, and go home. But instead of seeing rest solely as a means of getting over a hard day’s work, perhaps God saw it as a way, not only to get over a hard day’s work, but as a way to prepare for the next day’s work. We know how He loves the concept of preparation. The term is mentioned in one way or another over 200 times in our Bibles, especially in regard to things He considered significant . . .

• • • • “Evening” is a time for table fellowship and deepening connections with our family. Sharing food tends to put everyone in a better mood. Tensions tend to be eased, frustrations diminish, smiles come more naturally, and love finds opportunities for expression. Our evening meals can be a wonderful way to prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. 
      • “Evening” can also be a time for reading God’s Word and engaging in personal and family prayer. Though we may not consider it, in most cases there is generally more time available in the evening for those pursuits than the morning. 
      • “Evening” can be a time for reflecting on our day’s work and considering things we did well and those we’d like to have done better. In other words it can be a time for rejoicing and a time for repentance and moving in new directions.
      • “Evenings” have historically been quieter and less chaotic, which helps to reduce anxieties and alleviate pressure. That enables more concentrated thinking and planning. 

An Option to Consider ~
Obviously, there’s no mandate from God about how we arrange our days, but it might be interesting to try His approach, just to see what happens. And as you already know, our culture will not be helpful. Our evenings are filled with every kind of distraction imaginable – and some that defy imagination altogether. I wonder if the enemy’s concentrated efforts to sabotage our family dinners and inundate us with things that dominate our evenings are an indication of his fear of what would happen if we had a different approach. 

I’m certainly not on some kind of crusade about this very different and challenging approach that God Himself modeled, but what if we’ve been getting it backwards all along? I wonder then if our bodies might be stronger, our minds clearer, our hearts freer, and our influence in the world more powerful if our new days began around, oh, let’s say . . . dinner time??

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • … Although it might seem strange to us Westerners as we try to absorb all that, God definitely likes to consider our days as beginning in the evening, not the morning. So, odd as it seems, it appears that the Jews actually got it right. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • Maybe God looked ahead and figured that jumping out of bed, throwing on some clothes, gobbling down some food, and running out the door wasn’t the best way to equip us to engage a world full of forces that hate Him and all those who serve Him. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • Instead of seeing rest solely as a means of getting over a hard day’s work, perhaps God saw it as a way, not only of getting over a hard day’s work, but as a way to prepare for the next day’s work. He loves the concept of preparation. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • I wonder if the enemy’s concentrated efforts to sabotage our family dinners and inundate us with things that dominate our evenings are an indication of his fear of what would happen if we had a different approach. What if we’ve been getting it backwards? @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)

Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” 

                    Click here for a “Look Inside” preview at Amazon.

© 2026 Gallagher’s Pen, Ronald L. Gallagher, Ed.S.  All rights reserved.