The Abundant Life Center

“Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light”

(A portion of lyrics from “Be Thou My Vision”)

Just a few verses from the beautiful hymn “Be Thou My Vision.”  I believe the more we purpose to keep our eyes steadfast on Him, the more we will see clearly and see as He sees.  Waking or sleeping, His sweet presence can be our Light.  As we take hold of His commands we can begin to walk with more courage and confidence.  Many times if things seem foggy and unclear to us we can fear making one step in front of the other.  Yet the more we have clear understanding we know by His Word that He will broaden our path and we can run the race with joy and purpose in our hearts!

Psalm 119:32 (CEB)

” I run the same path as your commandments
because you give my heart insight.”

Today my prayer for you is from Ephesians 1:18…

Ephesians 1:18 (CEV)

“My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God’s people.”

by Dona Hake

Psalm 1 :2-3  (TLB)

“…but they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.

 They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.”

There is great reward for being diligent in embracing the Word of God.  As you daily follow Him and purpose to put His teachings first and foremost in your life, He has promised that your life would be prospered.  As we stand as trees along God’s riverbank we will begin to see things grow and develop within us.  Let us always be mindful that our fruit is not for us alone to survive in this life but rather to be a blessing to those around us.  Let us purpose to be used by Him and to be willing to bless those He puts in our path as we live and abide in Him.  As we proclaim His Word many will be blessed and nourished from the  fruit that our lives bear.

 “The lips of the righteous nourish many…”

I’m feeling blessed today knowing that I am standing strong in His promises.  I love that He has promised that my life would bear fruit all the seasons of my life and all that I put my hand to shall prosper!  I encourage you today to look for ways that you can follow Him more closely.  We are able to be His people that prosper in all that we do!

by Dona Hake

Oh the power of the cross!    He finished the work, and He desires that we walk as He walked.  It is only by the power of God that any of us can remain strong for He has promised to give us ALL things that we need that pertain to this life and living godly.  When God says ALL He means ALL.  Not just a high percentage but ALL, and that means He will cause us to lack in no good thing as we ask Him.

2 Peter 1:3-4 (PHILLIPS)

“He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his own glorious goodness. It is through him that God’s greatest and most precious promises have become available to us men, making it possible for you to escape the inevitable disintegration that lust produces in the world and to share in God’s essential nature.”

We no longer need to strive to live a life pleasing unto to Him but rather draw upon Him as we come to know Him more intimately.  It is as this becomes so real to us that the scripture in Philippians 4:13 will explode with power within us!

Philippians 4:13 (AMP)

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

Today may we meditate on seeing ourselves walking as our Lord walked.   Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be pleasing to Him.   Seek out divine opportunities to be a vessel of His love.    To God be the glory!!!!

by Dona Hake

 Little children are a constant reminder to me of honesty, and their desire to please.  The Lord desires that our faith be as a child.  He loves when we run to Him with our concerns and every big or small detail of our lives.     As I teach the preschoolers at church I cannot tell you how many times one of the children will run to me and show me their latest bump or boo-boo.  Sometimes their boo-boo is so small I cannot see it, but believe me I try to show them that it matters!  Why?….because if it is important enough for them to bring it up,  I want to pay attention…and our Lord loves when we turn to Him with the smallest of our worries and problems we are facing, and believe me He is paying attention to us!

Luke 18:17 (ERV)
” The truth is, you must accept God’s kingdom

like a little child accepts things…”

Throughout your day take time to whisper prayers to Him about those things that concern you.    May we seek to have the heart of the child that gets excited over the simple things as well.   Never stop expressing praise and gratitude for the beauty and fun things God has created for us to enjoy.    As you remember His works and they thrill your heart, share your heart and tell Him.  He wants to hear about everything that is going on in your heart and mind for He truly cares about every detail of your life!

 “Any concern too small to be turned into a

prayer is too small to be made into a burden. ..
Corrie ten Boom

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!