Dona Hake, Author at The Abundant Life Center

“Your Faith Will Blossom”

Posted on Apr 21, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

I am happy to be able to bring this devotional to you today. After days of not having use of my computer and the internet, I am very thankful that it is up and running!

James 1:2-4 (The Voice) “Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and
sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you
embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true
patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip
you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete,
and wanting nothing.”

To be quite honest this scripture used to kind of baffle me and I would think I can not understand why James would say to count it as joy when you are going through a bad time. The more of life that I have experienced the more I understand this scripture. If our hearts and minds are open hardships have the ability to bring new perspective, and greater appreciation for everything and everyone around you.

The first thing I want to say that really stands out to me is that we need to come to a place where we embrace hardships and tests with a right attitude. I think the hardest thing for us to do is embrace a difficulty. It seems like human nature just wants to live in a place where there is no conflict but we well know that on this earth that is not going to happen. I find it troubling when Christians want to
get angry with God and turn their eyes away from Him when things are not going their way. The truth is, we live in a fallen world but we serve a risen Savior that is well able to bring victory in every thing we face!

Jesus tells us in the Word that we will have trials and troubles and he tells us how to handle them.

John 16:33 (AMP) ” I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” Isn’t it interesting that Jesus mentions that in the midst of tribulation, trials, distress and frustration that we are to be of good cheer or as James said it, “Count it all joy…”

May we continue to grow in our faith as we live everyday for Him. May we keep our eyes toward in when all is well, and may we ever keep our gaze on Him when we have hardships. God has promised that He would equip us in this journey. May we rest in that promise no matter what. God is good all the time, all the time…God is Good!

“Singing In the Storm”

Posted on Apr 16, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

I am reflecting on a very precious account of an elementary school teacher, and how she kept her small children calm during a deadly tornado in May of 2013. This story is so precious to me because the hearts and minds of little ones touch me in a very special way. I teach small children in church, and I love the many times that they have innocently and honestly shared their little hearts with me. Sometimes they may share their fears, sometimes it may be bad memories, and sometimes what they share is simply hilarious. The thing that stands out to me is their hearts being open, trusting and honest. My heart only wonders what it would be like to be with a group of small children, and having to calm them during an approaching deadly tornado. I would like to recall the story of this teacher, and how God helped her get her small classroom through such an event.

During the memorial service held in Moore, OK in May of 2013 Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma quoted excerpts from this portion of scripture…

Psalm 46:1-3 ”

God is our protection and source of strength. He is always ready
to help us in times of trouble. So we are not afraid when the earth quakes and
the mountains fall into the sea. We are not afraid when the seas become rough
and dark and the mountains tremble.”

After the tornado killed 26 and injured hundreds, the town of Moore gathered to remember those
that lost their lives and look to God and each other for strength to go on.During the service an elementary school teacher shared about how she handled her classroom of small children as the deadly tornado approached. She exclaimed how she did not want her children to be frightened
so she asked them if they wanted to play a game with her. She told them to move their desks against the wall and get under them. As they huddled they began to sing songs and after a few songs one little one asked to sing “Jesus Loves Me.”

As the tornado hit they were singing this song and the louder the
tornado got the louder they sang.

Even though the whole ordeal was a frightening one for this teacher and children, they lived to testify that they made it through the storm. During the memorial service these same children stood and sang “Jesus Loves Me” and received two standing ovations -once on their way in and again after they finished singing.

During the service the Rabbi Veder Harris read from the book of Kings, noting that God was not in the storm but is in the “still, clear voice within us.” I believe that even in the “storms” of this life if we stay still in our spirits and our faith strong in Him we can still hear His voice and proclaim His love for us. When we know we are hearing His voice we can always be assured that He is with us and He will bring us through.

I was so touched just trying to imagine little children in such a horrific situation huddled under desks singing at the top of their little lungs “Jesus Loves Me.” I began to think about when the storms of life come our way that this is what our reaction should be. Do our spirits hold fast to knowing and embracing that Jesus loves us as the storms of our life get louder and louder or do we allow the storm to overtake us because of doubt and unbelief?

I encourage you today to ponder the love of God that came through Him giving His Son. His love is great and He is greatly to be praised. Don’t forget, Jesus loves us, this we know, for the Bible tells us so!!!!

“Refresh My Soul”

Posted on Apr 15, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Today I will be sharing from Psalm 23:2 (AMP) “He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.”

This Psalm is probably one of the most favorite and most memorized over the years. The other day I was reading it, and my heart has returned to share with you what the Lord has impressed upon my heart. I would dare to say that anyone would love to say that their heart and mind is surrounded and totally permeated with God’s peace and rest. Along with a heart and mind at rest, I believe He desires that we be good stewards of our bodies in the area of rest that we experience good health.

I love when people share what they have learned from the Lord through their experiences. It is so valuable when we can share the wisdom we attain with one another. Today I will share with you what the Lord recently spoke to my heart relative to leading me through a sickness I am recovering from. It has been a few weeks where I knew my body was dealing with something. Last Monday while I was quietly walking about my backyard with Aasha, He gently impressed upon my heart that I needed to commit my body to rest. May I emphasize ~He gently impressed upon my heart~. He did not command me…it was a gentle leading. The Lord never forces us to do a thing….”period…end of paragraph!!!”

I have to say that resting and doing nothing for me is a struggle. I am an achiever, and I do not stop until I am exhausted. I continue to learn that just going about doing things my own way can get me in trouble. You see, we can confess that He leads us to quiet places, green pastures, and still waters, but that does not always mean we obediently follow. My friend, I must tell you, this can get us in trouble!

After being diagnosed with pneumonia a few days ago, I can say that I am glad that I was obedient to do all that I knew to do. My body is healing up and strength is welling up from within, and I praise Him for it! Over the past few days I have experienced rest like never before, and it has been so amazing. I want to add to this that we need to be so thankful for our bodies, and God desires that we take care of them. Sometimes we can be overdoing it, and not respecting the fact that God has indeed created us to work and produce but he also desires we receive proper rest, We must obey that fact or we can end up paying for it. Our shepherd knows the “green pastures” and “quiet waters” that will restore us. We reach those places only by obediently following Him.

I hope this has blessed you today. As the old saying goes, “We live and we learn, and we learn and we live.” I praise Him for this experience and wisdom of a greater understanding of proper body rest.

“It’s A New Day!”

Posted on Apr 14, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Philippians 3:13-14
“…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Today is here and tomorrow is coming. What happened yesterday is in the past. May we look to Him today, and expect good things for this day and our future! Sometimes our failures, experiences or hurts from yesterday can try to hinder the moment. I believe God is calling us to live in the moment, in His presence, and in faith toward Him. If our yesterday has brought pain to us we need to ask the Lord to bring healing to our heart and ask Him for the wisdom we need to walk forward. It is important to remember that when we do walk through hardships that we should seek to embrace and pass on that wisdom when He calls upon us to do so. Remember…we are His light and His mouth piece to speak to those hurting and in need.

God desires that we look forward into our future with faith in our hearts. It is a very bad mistake to live and dwell in our past. It is like trying to drive a car with our gaze continually in the rear view mirror. Yes, there are times we need to glance in our rear view mirrors so we can proceed cautiously. Those glances serve us to proceed with caution that we do not make mistakes or put
ourselves in danger. May we be continually looking forward as the Lord walks beside us, and leads us and guides us in His paths that echo His Name.

I love this quote by John Mason…”The future frightens only those who prefer living in the past.” Many times our minds may try to haunt us with reminders of our mistakes or failures from our pasts. Know this…As we take our failures and mistakes to God, He will teach us from them, and we can actually grow stronger. God does not want us to be fearful of our future but rather we need to rejoice in
the days to come knowing that He is ready to use us as He wills as we give Him
our all! I leave you with this powerful quote…

“MY UNKNOWN FUTURE IS IN THE HAND OF AN ALL KNOWING GOD”

” A Love That Never Fails “

Posted on Apr 12, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Today will be the last day that I will share from 1 Corinthians 13. I have enjoyed looking at what love is and what it is not over that past few weeks. The last of the attributes of love in I Corinthians 13, it is written that love NEVER fails. The longer we are alive the more we realize that there are things that we thought were guaranteed to last somewhat, and they simply do not. I often think that appliances in this day and age are manufactured not to last but to break in a matter of time. I thank God that His love is tried and true and we have an eternal guarantee never fails,and it has no expiration date. but it is eternal.

As we rejoice in knowing that love never fails, we can rejoice greatly in the fact that we will never be separated from it. Romans 8:39 it says, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As we stay in fellowship with the God of love, light and life we will continue to go forward. Know that there will be times in this life that we may fail, but God and His love NEVER fail. He is always there for us and He promises to continue to be there for us.

Every day there will be new challenges that can bring potential frustrations that can tempt us to be weary and cause our heart to fear failing. Be encouraged, we serve a God of love that never fails. Our loving Heavenly Father is there to deliver us and bring us out of circumstances and we will be stronger than before!

“God’s Love Bears All Things”

Posted on Apr 11, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Today we will meditate upon the fact that God’s love bears all things. I would like to share two different translations that I found to be very helpful in bring an even greater revelation to our hearts.

1 Corinthians 13:7Amplified Bible (AMP)

“Love bears up under anything and everything that comes…”

1 Corinthians 13:7-10 (PHILLIPS)

“Love knows no limit to its endurance…”

The love of God does not give up, and it never weakens. Here is another great scripture that I love that reminds me of what the love chapter is saying about the endurance of our God, and it is found in

Isaiah 40:28-31 (The Voice) “Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Eternal, the Everlasting God, The Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary. His wisdom is beyond understanding. God strengthens the weary and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care. Young people will get
tired; strapping young men will stumble and fall. But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles. They will run—never winded, never weary. They will walk—never tired, never faint.”

Isn’t it good to know that even in times of weariness that as we look to Him, He will enable us to regain the strength that we need to go on because God never tires in any situation. Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” We serve a God that will help us to bear down and draw on new strength when we just feel like giving up.

I can remember a particular time in my life where I was growing weary as I was believing for the salvation of my father. He was in a nursing home and I would visit each day, as I was also teaching school. I felt like my days were not long enough, and I was growing physically weak, and unable to focus. One evening while I was in prayer the Lord showed me in my spirit an image of a candle that was burning so long that the wick was ready to go out because the wax was so deep and it was extinguishing the wick. It seemed that the candle was a reflection of me losing hope and burning out. As I pondered this, I can remember asking the Lord for His strength and just one moment of clarity with my father that I might be able to pray with him. I rejoiced as that moment came within a day before he died. I was assured he gave he life to the Lord, and I will never forget the strength that only God could give for I had none in my own ability! Praise God that we serve a God that never weakens nor gives up but presses in until the desired result is accomplished.

“God’s Love Does Not Envy”

Posted on Apr 10, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Today we will go back to 1 Corinthians 13 and think about what God’s love is not. God’s love does not permit us to be envious. Yesterday, I shared with you that godliness with contentment brings great gain to us, and I believe that one of the sure way our hearts could open us up to envy would be if we are not content in what the Lord has blessed us with.

God desires that we guard our hearts with all diligence for this is the place in which He dwells. Proverbs 4:23 speaks to us and tells us why:

“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above

all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

God desires that we allow no room in our heart for anything that could poison it, and cause it destruction. He understands that it only takes a little bit of something bad that could become very big and destructive to our love walk and His will for our life. As we look at envy today, we will see it’s power and how it could poison our soul. Envy denotes a longing to possess something that someone else has. Here is a quote that will make it even clearer for us:

“Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.”

Harold Coffin

First of all I want to say that anyone of us can fall prey to this sin apart from the help of God.

The devil can trick us into thinking it is okay to feel certain feelings such as envy . He will try to convince us that it is okay to feel envious as long as we don’t talk about it. You know…just keep it hidden. He cleverly understands the whole concept of hiding things from others and putting on a front of looking spiritual or good while the inside of you is being eaten up by a poison and weakening in your walk with the Lord. Remember this for the Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “…Satan himself poses as a messenger of heavenly light…”

Satan may try to deceive us, and cause us to be comfortable with any sin such as the sin of envy, but let us be sober and vigilant for he seeks to devour us with such deception. As we purpose to grow in the love of God, we will be grounded in the fact that love simply is NOT envious!

Lord, help us this day to be vigilant and very cautious over our hearts. Help us to recognize such sins as envy that we can quickly weed it out of our soul and be free to serve You in greater ways. Continue to remind us of all that Your love is and all that it is not. We thank you for Your Word as it leads, guides and protects our hearts everyday!

“Godliness With Contentment”

Posted on Apr 9, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

I can remember a conversation with one of the girls that work in this particular store that I visit frequently. She is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and we were fellowshipping around loving the Lord, being content with our lives, and how we loved our homes. We discussed how it is so sad that some people just seem like they have a hard time being content so they fill the void in their life with things that seemingly make them happy and content.

Don’t get me wrong…doing things and going places are nice, and can be joyful but it is not where godly contentment is found. May we learn to enjoy the sweet simplicities of life and the blessings that God has so richly and abundantly poured our way. The Lord has called us to be examples in this world to live life in Him. As we live in godly contentment, I believe that our life will speak to people in ways we would never imagine.

1 Timothy 6:6 (VOICE)

“This is ironic because

godliness, along with contentment, does put us ahead but

NOT in the ways some imagine.”

Lord, we ask you today to remind us by Your Holy Spirit to seek first heavenly things. Help us to sort through what is important and what is not. Cause us to see godliness with contentment to be great gain. We seek to be examples of living life in total contentment and peace. We thank you that as we do this people will be drawn to You.

“We Have Been Give Divine Power!”

Posted on Apr 8, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

From the day I received Jesus over forty years ago it has been of utmost importance to me to know that God is in as many details of my life as possible. Being an achiever and being a planner has made me very aware of how time can be wasted if I am not planning my day properly. Mary Kay of Mary Kay Cosmetics was a very successful business woman, and I can remember her saying that we should all go to bed at night with at least six things on our “to do” list for the following day if we desire success. I too find that “to do” lists are such a help to me, but I want to always stay flexible, and willing to allow the Lord to interfere with my “to do” lists and my days.

I can testify of the many times He has interrupted my schedule, and I am glad He did. The blessing that comes with obedience in response to His plans is just wonderful! It is so important to understand that God’s Word says that He will give us all things that pertain to life and godliness. He desires to be in every detail if we allow Him. If your life has something stressful going on He will give you peace.
If you are sick He will bring healing if you believe Him for it. If you are afraid of your future, He will give you hope for your future and give you the peace and grace that you need.

2 Peter 1:3 (The Voice Translation) “His divine power has
given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect God’s true nature
through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue.”

Now I would like to share another scripture with you that go along with what I am
sharing today:

Proverbs 3:5-8 (NKJV) ” Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And
lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He
shall direct your paths.Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and
depart from evil.”

There is a wonderful secret tucked inside this wonderful scripture!Don’t try to figure things out. Listen to God all the time, and keep your own thoughts out of it. He’s the one that will keep us walking the “chalk line” (as my Daddy used to say). Don’t depend on your own wisdom because God’s wisdom is higher, and if we fear and esteem His Word as our highest standard we will be empowered by Him to run from evil. From the depths of our heart we must trust Him above anything else. We just cannot remain in faith, and still embrace thinking two different things at the same time. This is simply leaning on our own understanding. We cannot expect God to lead us in His ways if we have plans to depend on . When we walk with Him the path is narrow, and we must stay focused on Him. We must keep our
spiritual balance. He is well able to keep us standing up straight and strong. Even if we fall He is faithful to lift us up, dust us off, and send us back on our way walking along side of Him. As we fear God in a reverential way He will expose evil and help us to overcome anything that would hinder our walk with Him.

We serve a wonderful God that is quite eager to be in all of our affairs. Allow Him to do that today. Enjoy serving Him and expect Him to do wonderful things through you!

“Love Rejoices In the Truth”

Posted on Apr 7, 2015 in Devotions |

what love is not IT REJOICES IN THE TRUTH

by Dona Hake

1 Corinthians 13:6 (AMP)

” It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.”

As believers we need to love the truth of God’s Word. We must be able to discern that which the devil would try to make us believe above the Word of God. We need to be careful that we never enter into taking pleasure and rejoicing in evil, wrong doings or injustice, but to always rejoice in the truth, and believe the best. Let us look at 1 Corinthians10:5 which I feel is excellent to look at in light of the love chapter.

“We are demolishing arguments and ideas, every highand-mighty philosophy that pits itself against the knowledge of the one true God. We are taking prisoners of every thought, everyemotion, and subduing them into obedience to the Anointed One.” The Voice

I love how The Voice translates it…”demolishing arguments and ideas, every high-and-mighty philosophy that pits itself against the knowledge of the one true God.” There are many arguments, ideas, and high-and-mighty philosophies in the world in which we live. As believers we need to maintain firm convictions about the truth that we embrace, and not waver from it. We are not to just accept anything that comes along in this world, we are to judge it according to the truth that is established within us. When we love God’s Word with all of our heart we will hold fast to it no matter what the voices of this world speak. We will be steadfast and unmovable, always abounding in everything we put our hand to.

When you rejoice in truth you will have a heart that is totally free. You will be wise and discerning because you have put the truth above your opinions, your desires, your feelings and emotions, and you want Him and only Him to direct your steps. Let these scriptures come to life to you today, and if any negative or untrue thoughts come your way, deal with them according to the truth. See ANY untrue, poisonous thoughts and wrong emotions as enemies and take them as prisoners and subdue them into obedience to the Anointed One!