by Dona Hake

 

I can remember the terrible fear I once had, and that was the fear of flying. I can also remember like it was yesterday when I had the opportunity to travel to Wales in 1997. Oh how I desired to travel along with my husband and other members in my church, and experience this wonderful opportunity.

 

I can still remember standing with Brother Arthur Burt and him looking me straight in the eye saying “If it be the will of God, you will come to my home in Wales and visit.” The excuses began to roll around in my mind why I should not go but what it boiled down to was I feared flying. I can remember going home and telling my husband I just needed to be alone to pray and I got in the car, grabbed a cup of coffee and sat in Hardee’s parking lot asking the Lord what to do. With tears rolling down my face. I came to realize and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord was wanting me to go, therefore I had to face my fear head on. Once I said yes, I can honestly say the fear just seemed to dissipate like a heavy fog that left, and all was clear. It was amazing that from that moment on every time I would even hear a plane in the air, my heart would get so excited just anticipating this new experience I was going to do!

 

I can still remember sitting in the airplane right before take off and I can honestly say I had no fear in my heart. As the plane slowly made it’s way down the runway it seemed like forever till it lifted into the air. If you have ever flown you know what I am talking about. It slowly proceeded to the main runway after this turn and that turn but finally it made it’s way on the main runway. It was so exciting knowing that moment you know the plane is at the place where it is going down the final runway and little by little the speed increases and you experience that lift. Oh my gosh, I think that is the most awesome thing! But the most thrilling thing was being above the clouds and seeing the beauty of the sun on the clouds. It is the closest thing on earth to knowing what it is like to soar like an eagle.

 

 

In life we will all experience those times in which we have to face fears but when we say “yes!” to God’s help, we will experience His hand lifting us up to a place of where we are soaring above the clouds and storms of this life. He will cause us to rise up high above fears and our inabilities in Jesus Name!! God desires to take us places that we have never been before, and as we trust Him and put ourselves in His care He will show Himself able to make us soar.

 

by Dona Hake

 

 

 

 

Today I am desiring to see the beauty  in  God’s wisdom that proceeds only from His heart.  His wisdom is pure and untainted.   God wants to bestow upon us His pure wisdom as we humbly desire and ask for it.    You know we really do need it for every area of our life. 

 

 

 

 

When we ask God for His wisdom He desires to bless us with  pure thoughts and good judgement.  His wisdom is full of mercy, peace, and gentleness.  His ways and answers are not harsh or hypocritical.

 

 

 

There will be times in this life that people may come to you with questions that are simply difficult to give answers to.  As believers we can feel that we always have to have answers for people’s problems, and sometimes we can find ourselves at loss for words.    I have found in my life for it to be very freeing to my heart and mind to admit when  I do not know the answer to a particular question or problem.   In saying that I do not know the answer, I can say I KNOW the One who does have every answer I need,  and He is faithful to answer the prayer of a righteous man or woman.

 

 

 

As you ask God for His precious wisdom for those difficult situations, believe by faith that it is going to flow into you and flow forth from you as pure fresh living water. This is what we need and this is what people around us need…not our opinions, not our experiences, but rather the pure, life giving wisdom that comes only from above. 

 

by Dona Hake

 

Yesterday I shared about seeing others through God’s eyes.    Today I want to focus on seeing our lives in light of God’s eyesight into our lives and our daily issues that we face.  May we acknowledge that He sees our life from a perspective that is above and beyond our comprehension. This is why we are called to trust Him in all matters big and small. So today let us look at the word trust.

TRUST: (defined) reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

 

Sometimes the easiest thing to do is turn to your own thoughts and understanding in matters we face. How easy it is to just Google into your phone or computer a problem, and site after site offers knowledge and explanation for us to read.  I think this is a wonderful tool but let us be reminded not to lean on our own understanding for God’s ways and thoughts are above anything that earthly knowledge can bring to  us.   Sometimes leaning on our own understanding or another’s knowledge can become like a crutch or a comfy place.   This mentality will quickly weaken our trust in God.

 

 

 

Many times we can overlook the fact that God may be seeing our situation in an entirely different way and it would do us good to throw everything into reverse, be quiet and consult with Him. I think the most common mistake we can make is only taking difficult matters to Him because we think the easy ones we can figure out on our own.  Can we consider taking EVERYTHING  to God, and make a habit of it?

God has blessed us with intelligence, creativity and know how but let us always be mindful to lean upon Him even in the smallest of matters that He is able to guide our paths. Now let us ask ourselves.  “Do I trust His integrity, His strength, His ability,His surety, and everything else that He says that He is?”    It would probably do us all good to remind ourselves of who we believe Him to be that we can grow in our trust in Him, and rely upon His ways and not our own.   So today I encourage you to lean on Him and not your own understanding.  God is faithful and worthy to be trusted!

 

by Dona Hake

 

 

 

by Dona Hake

 

In the scriptures (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) Paul spoke of calling out to God to help him. Paul had more than he felt he could bear as he was dealing with problems and he begged God that the these things would depart from him. God’s response…”My grace which is my favor, my lovingkindness, and my mercy are all that you need. My grace is sufficient against any danger and it enables you to bear this trouble manfully. My strength and power are made perfect and show themselves MOST effective in your weakness.”

Paul’s heart was totally toward God yet he was weakened by his trials and circumstances.    God was faithful to Paul and spoke to him of His powerful grace that would enable him to bear every trouble manfully.  One translation implies that we  allow God’s grace to rest as a tent pitched upon us. What an awesome way of looking at dwelling and drawing upon His wonderful grace.

 

Paul then said, “when I am weak in my own human strength, then I am truly strong, able and powerful in God’s strength.” Paul saw that God’s grace was all that he needed. He saw that it was sufficient. God’s grace is adequate for any purpose and it is always more than enough. God’s grace is sufficient for us as well. May we draw upon it as we live this life, and may His grace rest as a tent pitched upon us.

 

 

 

by Dona Hake

 

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against

you until it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never

give up then, for that is just the time and place that the tide

will turn.”

 

 

 

I love this quote. It makes me wonder how many times that I have given up on something or someone just when the tide was ready to turn. Determination is when you come to a decision or you fix yourself on a purpose, and nothing is going to hold you back.  

 

 

 

I cannot help but think of Peter as he stepped out of the boat upon the Lord’s command. “Come Peter!” I can only imagine what was going through Peter’s mind as he looked down and saw himself walking on the water. His faith was at work and he was defying the impossible. Yet when his mind became focused on the wind, waves and the turbulent storm, he began to sink. Jesus reached out His hand to Peter, took a firm hold and kept him above water. The thing that always hit me the hardest with this account was that Peter was only an arm’s reach away from Jesus. Peter was almost there but circumstances caused his heart to weaken in faith and determination.

 

How many times are we just an arm’s reach away from the finish line of success in that which we are setting ourselves. How many times is the tide ready to turn and we throw up our hands and give up. We must apply faith, persistence, and determination to all we set ourselves to do. As we fix our eyes on Jesus with determination and faith in our hearts, He will enable us to do the impossible. It is as we do this that we can share the testimony of what we learned in our accomplishment to those that need this same word of encouragement!

 

 

“And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for

after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”

Galatians 6:9 TLB

 

by Dona Hake

 

I picture in my mind David writing the Psalms in the quietness of the night while his eye was watchful over his flock of sheep. I am sure that his days were long days, and some were more challenging than others. Sheep have a way of getting themselves in trouble, and they can be helpless as well. A good shepherd seeks to understand every aspect of the care of his sheep.

 

There are a handful of Psalms where David used the term “cast down.” This is probably one of my favorite facts about a shepherd and his sheep that brings such a beautiful analogy of the Psalm to us. “Cast down” is a term used for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. I want to make emphasis on *it cannot get up again by itself. A “cast” sheep is a sad sight. It lays on its back, and as its feet are in the air, it struggles frantically to get back up again. Sometimes it will make little bleating cries for help and just lays there frustrated. If the shepherd does not arrive on time, the sheep will die. Since a sheep that is cast is in such a helpless state, it is also vulnerable to attack by predators.

 

I think this is such an excellent analogy of our condition at times, yet David would use this term within prayers such as “why are you cast down oh my soul?…hope in God.” I am sure we can all relate to times that we are down, feeling frustrated and helpless.

 

Psalm 37:24 Amplified Bible

“Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down,

for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.”

 

I encourage you that in those times of being down and feeling helpless that you would look up for His hand. It is there for you to grasp! He will lift you up and put you on your feet again. Our Lord is a good Shepherd and He most assuredly will uphold you!

 

by Dona Hake

 

 

 

by Dona Hake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Dona Hake

I can remember the evening like it was yesterday. I had completed a very long day of shooting a wedding and I was a good hour away from home. When I left the wedding it was dark and a storm had moved in. Heavy rain, wind, and fog was what I would be driving in. With many of my weddings that I shot being out of town I learned to rely on my GPS aka “Gladys”. I turned on “Gladys” and proceeded to closely follow her directions. Everything looked totally different in the dark, and heavy rain. I can remember a tractor trailer coming straight for me and visibility was so bad, and it looked like he was going to hit me. That had me a bit shaken and then I realized on top of that the GPS was taking me home a totally different way than I came. I can remember the feeling of just being totally dependent on this wonderful little device because I had no clue where I was.

 

As the I continued to drive I was becoming a bit concerned because I was seeing no route signs, no nothing…nothing but cornfields. I could not figure out why it seemed like I was on such a path that seemed to be going nowhere. I called my husband to get his opinion and while we were talking I lost cell signal. Right before we got cut off he encouraged me not to fear, that he would pray and I was to keep him posted. I had absolutely no idea where in the world I was! I realized I just needed to continue to listen and follow the GPS and keep calm. I had to set my fears, my opinions and my apprehensiveness aside, and just trust that this little device knew what “she” was doing and where “she” was taking me. It was a matter of minutes that I was in the middle of nowhere and just like that my next turn was on a familiar route to my home. I breathed a sigh of relief, and thought from now on I need to just keep calm when “Gladys” decides to take me different routes.

 

I shared that little story just to bring a spiritual truth to you today. God desires that we live dependent on nothing but Him. He wants to be our spiritual GPS! Let us guard ourselves that nothing on this earth has a place in our hearts more than He does. He has promised that He would never EVER fail us or leave us helpless. There will be times that the direction He is taking us may seem off the beaten path but let us come to the place that we lift our hands in surrender to His divine decision making and guidance. Many times we are set on paths that are divinely ordained by His hand to simply keep us safe. It may seem “out of the way” to you but His ways are divinely appointed for you and you alone. Let us learn to be content with where He is directing us and be set on following Him.

 

 

 

Hebrews 13:5 (AMP)

 

“Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”

 

 

 

Today I encourage you to keep Him always before you.   Ask Him to show you the things that are tugging at your heart that serve to weaken your love for Him, and pull you off the perfect path that He has set for you.

 

 

 

Psalm 16:8 (KJ21) 

 

“I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”