by Dona Hake

 “Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?

There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r
In the precious blood of the Lamb.”

Lyrics from “There’s Power In the Blood”

by Lewis E. Jones

I love this old hymn because it challenges my heart to remember that Jesus did what no one else could do for us.  Today I encourage you to remember that your heart can be whiter than snow because of what He did at the cross.  May we celebrate this day and every day that we were set free from the bondage of sin as He gave His life upon the cross for us.   Because He lives we can face our today and every tomorrow in the strength and power of all that He is!

by Dona Hake

“Life is a journey, not a destination”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have always loved this quote because it ministers to my heart about how to view my time here on this earth.  I can remember several years ago a gentleman sharing  about a very special man that walked in  great integrity and he was highly esteemed.   He was remembered as one that encouraged people to reach their potential. He began to share something he heard this gentleman say and it relates  to the quote I shared. 

This gentleman being interviewed humbly quoted this gentleman that had passed…“Yes it’s said that life is a journey, not a destination”…and if you do it right, you will never reach your destination. The reason being that until the day you die, you should never cease to learn and grow to your potential.” Learning, growing and giving should be life’s experience until you take your last breath.

It is a wonderful thing to make a decision that you will continue to grow and learn everyday of your life no matter how old we are. So as we press in to reach our potential, let us be mindful to never give up because God has much for us to do while we live our life for Him.

by Dona Hake

Proverbs 3:5 (AMP)
“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart

and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”

How many times have you only viewed things from the “glasses” of your formed opinions and thoughts?    This can be a common mistake, and we can fall short of seeing things as God sees them.  If we are leaning on our own understanding we are seeing things  as we have concluded them to be.   Sadly if we make conclusions apart from God’s truth we could make mistakes in how we react to people and things. We need to remember that God is always seeing the bigger picture and He sees how all is working together for the good if we trust in Him.

Now if we are leaning on God and trusting in Him,  it is truly a wonderful thing.  Leaning upon God will bring rest to our souls.   Sometimes in the midst of life’s hard blows it can cause us to be weary and tired.  I was so blessed as I read the following scripture this morning.

Psalm 37:7
Amplified Bible

“Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him…”

Have you ever been so tired and you stopped to just lean against something, and once you felt strength to go again you stood back up and  proceeded.   The psalmist was encouraging the reader to stop and lean on God and do it with patience.  Wow!!!  There’s that word *patience* again!…it seems like I am constantly reminding my little granddaughters of what this word means.  To be patient is to wait with a happy heart!   Today I encourage you that if you are needing rest and refreshment in your soul to STOP, BE STILL, AND PATIENTLY LEAN YOURSELF UPON HIM!  Wait patiently and as you do so, expect for Him to refresh you and cause new strength to rise up from within you.  God is good!

by Dona Hake

When we are in faith it is important that we not judge that things are not happening just because of what we see or do not see.    Many times the Lord is beginning to unfold answers to our prayers, but because of our preconceived ideas of how it is going to happen we may miss what He is trying to do in our life.  Sometimes the answers to our prayers simply come in a whole different “package” than we expected.

Hebrews 11:1 (TLB)
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something

we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what

we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.

Hebrews 11:1 (VOICE)
Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for,

the absolute conviction that there

are realities you’ve never seen.

One thing that we can be assured of is that we need to know that God desires to bless our faith  yet He understands more than we will ever know that His timing and our waiting is so important.    It is also of great importance that our asking is in line with His will for our lives.   Today I encourage you that if you are believing Him for something to wait with an assurance in your heart that He will bless your faith.  Continue to stand with your eyes on Him, and may you refuse to be moved for that thing you are hoping for.    Remember faith IS the assurance of things we are hoping for and it IS absolute conviction of things you have not yet seen with your physical eyes!

by Dona Hake

Ecclesiastes 7:10  (NIV)

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”

For it is not wise to ask such questions.

 Sometimes in the midst of how evil seems to be on such a rapid pace I will hear people refer to the “good ole days”.   We can all reach into our past of sweet memories and enjoy them but we need to be careful to remember that things are continually changing around us. No matter how hard we try it would be impossible for us to go back to  our past.   Yes, we will always have fond and sweet memories of our life, and God has blessed us with such a life.   Yet our God desires that we keep moving forward with His plan burning within our hearts.  That God given  plan within our hearts will be the vision before our eyes.  

“…but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—

to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. ”

Philippians 3:13 The Message

by Dona Hake

“But still, You long to enthrone truth throughout my being;

in unseen places deep within me, You show me wisdom.”

Psalm 51:6 (The Voice)

I want to share one of my favorite meditations from Watchman Nee’s book that I read many years ago.  He shared that there are virgin caverns within our souls that God has not yet touched with His light. He was likening the caverns of our soul as veins in which God’s light and life are flowing. The virgin caverns are those that have not yet been discovered by the light of His truth.  Let us think upon the fact that within each of us are places that have not yet been touched by His light.   Also, the places that within us that have been touched by His Word and changed can always be deepened by the power of His Holy Spirit.  May we purpose to grow in the depths of all that God has for us!

These words could serve us with some real enlightenment regarding the truth that is within us. Every time I think about this statement it reminds me that there is truth that I still need deeper understanding of and there is truth that God has not yet touched my soul with yet. Lord, help me to remain humble that I may receive ALL that you desire for me to know regarding your truth!

God desires that we cry out for the wisdom and truth that the unseen places of our soul have not yet experienced.  He desires that the truth we know of to have a place in our heart that is protected and honored.    In Psalms 51:6 the psalmist is saying,

“But still, You long to enthrone truth throughout my being…”   

Let us be reminded that the truth that we know should be guarded and NOT compromised by what we feel or do not feel like doing.  Truth must reign above our feelings, emotions, and it is not moved by what is going on around us.    Let us ask Him today for His wisdom on how to keep the truth we have embraced enthroned within us.

Devotional for Thursday, April 6, 2017

“We Have Been Given All That We Need”

by Dona Hake

As we spend time on this earth serving the Lord may we see it as  a journey.   He desires that we serve Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul.  We must be assured that we are equipped for all that He has for us to do.    I love the image I shared today because it ministered to my heart relative to God giving me all that I need.  First of all, His Word will keep me full of the knowledge of His will.  Any door that I need to walk through whether difficult or not, He has the exact key and He also provides me with His perfect timing and I need to keep my eyes on His watch not my own.  It is when we get our eyes off of all that He has provided that our hearts can be tempted to fear.  

2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP)
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and

cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love

and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”

Let us be reminded today to stay focused on all that He has given us through His love for this very special journey on earth. We can live this life with a spirit full of power, love, and calm well balance minds!  It is Him that can help us to remain disciplined and self controlled for the God given work He has for us.