Oh that we can see ourselves free to be who God has made us to be. Can we dare to just be ourselves and permit Him to mold and make us for His purposes. God desires that we be comfortable with who we are and not try to be someone else. I was particularly inspired for today’s devotional by the following quote:

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make

you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

God help us to see more clearly how we are to live and move in You that we may be free to be who You created us to be!

by Dona Hake

Psalm 139:1-6    Easy-to-Read Version

“Lord, you have tested me,
so you know all about me.
You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know my thoughts from far away.
 You know where I go and where I lie down.
You know everything I do.
 Lord, you know what I want to say,
even before the words leave my mouth.
 You are all around me—in front of me and behind me.
I feel your hand on my shoulder.
I am amazed at what you know;
it is too much for me to understand.”

His precious love  surrounds us, and He knows every detail about us.  The God of Heaven and Earth formed you in the womb, and He knows all about you.   He knows your heart, your soul, and the deepest of your emotions.  How precious and wonderful is this to ponder in our hearts!  What blessed assurance we can hold fast to in knowing that we can serve a God that totally understands us inside and out.  Even before words leave our mouth He knows what we are going to say.    There is no escaping His loving knowledge about us.

The Amplified version says in verse three “You sift and search out my path.”   He knows every minute of our life and every breath we will take, and the path we walk is “sifted” and seen with His loving eyes.    As we remain humble before Him there is freedom in knowing that He who sees all will direct our path.    There is sweet peace and protection in knowing that He sees everything before us and behind us.

As we start our day let us remind ourselves to allow Him to search our hearts and speak to us.  We should be amazed as we meditate upon how awesome He is.    This is a thought that should keep us humble before Him in every area of our life.  As we do this, we will live in peace and freedom in Christ!

by Dona Hake

Our words can build people up or our words can tear people down.  One word has the power to encourage, yet an unkind word has the power to tear a heart down.  When I think of people that always seem to speak words with grace I think of those individuals that seem to know how to speak exactly the right thing .  They seem to know not only the perfect words but their timing is just as proper.  As I looked at  Colossians 4:6 ,  I found two translations very thought provoking.

 “Be gracious in your speech.

The goal is to bring out the best in others

in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.”

Colossians 4:6  The Message

 “Everything you say should be kind and

well thought out so that you know

how to answer everyone.”

Colossians 4:6 GOD’S WORD Translation

Today let us look at setting a goal  of our words being that of bringing out the best in people.   There will be times that we will encounter people that  do not feel good about themselves.  Sometimes this is because of things they might be enduring, they may be feeling low, and not feeling self worth.  As we exercise observation of people while we are in conversation we may be surprised how the Lord may provide an opportunity for us to build them up.

 I believe as we purpose to think through and observe people carefully before we speak, we may be surprised how the Lord desires to use our words to build them up.    As we couple that with seeing others through God’s eyes we too will see them in a different light as well.  Let our words be encouraging, full of His grace that our words are instruments for a good thing!

Proverbs 18:4 (TLB)

“A wise man’s words express deep streams of thought.”

by Dona Hake

I can remember as a little girl thinking how everything took too long. Small children almost seem to think that waiting for anything can be an eternity. Many times it is just hard for them to accept the whole concept of how every thing has a process and takes time.

One day when our oldest granddaughter was about three years old, I was teaching her to make banana bread. She thought it was the neatest thing ever to walk through every part of the process. She saw me crack an egg and she wanted to crack an egg. Apprehensively I handed her the egg hoping it would be a good experience. She managed to crack it properly and did rather well. With each step she grew more and more in love with the whole process of preparing the bread batter. She kept stirring and stirring and eventually it was time to pour in the pans an pop in the oven.

 Philippians 2:13 (ERV)

“Yes, it is God who is working in you.

He helps you want to do what pleases him,

and he gives you the power to do it.”

by Dona Hake

I love when someone shares what the Lord has done for them.  Testimonies bring hope and refreshment to our hearts.  As we share the wonderful works that the Lord has done for us we will be encouraging the hearts of those listening, and even strengthen their faith.   I can remember hearing the testimony that I am going to share with you, and this is what I call a Divine Appointment.   I love those times in which you know that the God of Heaven and Earth is orchestrating where we are and who we end up speaking to.   You never know how He desires to use you!   I hope this testimony encourages your heart…

This woman had shared how she lived in Florida and she received a phone call on her cell phone from Pennsylvania.  She did not recognize the number but she felt to answer it.  The man on the other end was obviously confused, and he said he was trying to reach a family member.  He apologized and hung up and she felt prompted to call the police in the area in which the call came from.  She felt a bit awkward but explained to them that she really felt something was wrong with this gentleman.  The police arrived at  this gentleman’s house and he indeed was in need of help.  After a week in the hospital they diagnosed him with a life threatening blood infection.

Needless to say the family of this man were ever so thankful that this young woman’s simple act of kindness and going the extra mile very likely saved this man’s life.  The testimony just really touched my heart.  

Everyday we need to be  sensitive to opportunities that seem small yet they may be big to someone in need.   Sometimes you never really know how that one word you spoke in due season could have sparked hope in a person’s soul.  Let us be sensitive to the times that we are presented with opportunities to give a listening ear to a lonely person or  just take the time to pray for someone because you feel prompted.  These things are all part of ministering the love of God, and just possibly setting someone up for a beautiful testimony of the Lord’s great work in their life!   I pray that your eyes will be opened for divine opportunities to be used by Him today!

by Dona Hake

The thing that inspired me with seeing my birds fly to safety was that they were already safe on the deck of my home. There was no way for my dog to get to them there.  The deck has no stairs and she cannot get to them even if she tried.   They were in a high place, and safely protected and were not aware of it.  

Today we are going to meditate upon the high places of God.   I am thinking about the safe places that God has for us to hide and dwell in the Spirit.  When we abide in Him there is a place of refuge and everything will be okay. By faith we must believe that He has provided a way of escape and our hearts can rest and be at peace even when turmoil is all around us.

Psalm 27:5 (TLB)

” There I’ll be when troubles come.

He will set me on a high rock”

When unrest visits our soul, it is a beautiful thing to know that we have a God that has a plan of escape for us. As He hides us under His wings we can be assured that He is well able to get us through any battle in this life. Today I especially am desiring to reflect on His wonderful peace as a place of refuge. His peace exceeds all our thoughts about any matter and it will guard and shelter our hearts and minds!

Philippians 4:7 (CEB)

“Then the peace of God that exceeds

all understanding will keep your

hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.”

by Dona Hake

 I know when I stay focused on God’s grace flowing through me that I can do anything He requires me to do.  It is then that I experience that wonderful blessed feeling of working wholeheartedly for it is God’s strength that enables me to do all He asks.   It is then that I know that I will indeed reap from the good and diligent work of my hands.   Yet there may be times that we are all tempted to lose heart in what we are doing.    The Word of God says in Galatians that if we do not “lose heart and grow weary”  we shall reap.

Galatians 6:9 (AMP)

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and

faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due

time and at the appointed season we shall reap,

if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

It is when we lose heart that most of us can identify and will express words like “I just feel like I am going through the motions.”  It is usually at this time we could feel   drained in our  attempts even to do a good thing.  Most certainly at times like these our mind will begin to develop an unhealthy attitude and this is a sure guarantee that the Lord’s hand will not be able to bless what we are doing.  I think it is always important to remember  even when we step out in an attempt to do a good thing by no means gives us the guarantee of smooth sailing.

As we establish in our hearts and mind what  the will of the Lord , we must keep our eyes on Him.  It takes courage and strength to persevere in this life and as we continue to focus on that which He has instructed us to do we shall reap!  Today I encourage your heart to ask Him to help you work with a diligent heart and hands.   Ask the Holy Spirit to warn you when you are tempted to negative thoughts that would give place to weariness.   God is able to bless the work of our hearts and keep our hearts strong as we do His will, in Jesus Name!

by Dona Hake

Matthew 6:27 (God’s Word Translation)

It would be interesting to know who much time we waste as we  worry and become  preoccupied with unnecessary thoughts.  The Lord knows each of us so well and He understands  how the fears of this life can pull us into a place of fearing our future.  In the scripture from Matthew 6 He warned us to not worry but rather give our cares to Him.

Jesus was  saying that worry is a waste of time and it is not going to add anything to our life. Worry can damage our health, it can consume our thoughts, negatively affect how we treat those around us, and most importantly it weakens our faith.

Worry has the ability to bring us to a standstill. It is totally normal to be concerned about what we face in this life yet we need to remind ourselves that it is Him that will perfect that which concerns us.

The following is an interesting quote by Benjamin Franklin…

“Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen.

Keep in the sunlight.”

Today I encourage you to stay in  the “Son’s light” by keeping yourself absorbed in His Word, and as we do this….all fears must go!  Even in the face of negative we need to believe God can turn it inside out and we can be on the victory side!   Let us ask the Lord as we face fears and difficulties for His help and His perspective. Pray that He would give you courage to face your tomorrows and know that He is walking with you.

1 Peter 5:7

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your
concerns,once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and

by Dona Hake

Philippians 3:13 (ERV)

But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and

try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me.”

I love how Paul expressed his determination to keep his focus.  He admitted  he had a long way to go but he was determined to do two things, and they were to forget the past and reach toward his goals.  He understood that his past needed to be forgotten and his future needed to be reached for with great perseverance.

Many times in our journey in life we may come to a “dead end” on a path that seems so promising.  Do not let that discourage you but rather seek the Lord and what He would have you  do.  I believe there are many times that “dead ends” on the paths that we walk are God’s favor on us, and He is sparing us from a bad decision or mistake.  Sometimes you just never know… one thing we do know though, and that is that we need to keep moving forward with our eyes on our Lord!   I leave you with this quote…

“One of the greatest and most comforting truths

is that when one door opens, another closes,

but often we look so long and

regretfully upon the closed door that

we do not see the one that is open for us.”

(Anonymous)

by Dona Hake

No love on this planet can be compared to the love of God. God’s love was toward us before we ever knew Him. I can remember when I thought I did not need God in my life. My excuse…well, plain and simple…I thought there were just too many hypocrites out there. I thought if people could not be real then I wanted nothing to do with the whole deal of Christianity or walking with a God that I could not see.    Then the day came when I encountered some individuals that truly exhibited His love. They were real and walked the talk. They showed me that He loved me even though I did not yet love Him. He loved me even though I did not deserve His love and goodness. God knew exactly what I needed and I thank Him that He put those special people in my path to show me His love.

After living for Him for forty four  years I can honestly say I cannot imagine life without Him. I thank God He loved me through people that He placed in my life, and I am ever so thankful for those that prayed for me when some gave up and thought I was too stubborn.

Romans 5:6-8 (PHILLIPS)

” And we can see that it was while we were powerless to help ourselves

that Christ died for sinful men. In human experience it is a rare thing

for one man to give his life for another, even if the latter be a good man,

though there have been a few who have had the courage to do it.

Yet the proof of God’s amazing love is this: that it was while we

were sinners that Christ died for us.”

I encourage you to think about His great love for you.   The greatness of His love can be compared to none.  It is so amazing and so great!   God is good!