Dona Hake, Author at The Abundant Life Center

“Get Wisdom”

Posted on Mar 17, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

As a mother I can remember many times encouraging my sons to love and to seek God’s wisdom. Wisdom is a precious thing, and here in Proverbs, Solomon was sharing how his father shared with him to seek wisdom and become wise. This encouragement may have prompted Solomon to ask God for a discerning heart above everything else.

Proverbs 4:5-6
“Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.”

Oh how important it is that when we hear the Word of God, and we know that wisdom has come to us that we do not forget it. When one forgets wisdom they have ceased or failed to remember it or unable to recall it when they needed it most. I think one of the biggest area where we can all relate to forgetting wisdom is failing to remember it in our speech and conversations. Did you ever say something, and then think “oh my…I knew better than to say that!” It is times like this that we need to acknowledge that we have failed to permit wisdom to have control of of words, and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.

I find it all so very sad though when people just forsake wisdom. Somewhere along their way they just seem to give up and quit on wisdom and some leave it entirely. I love how this scripture so beautifully speaks of wisdom when one embraces her. Solomon tells how his father said that it would protect him, and as he loved wisdom, she would watch over him. Oh that we would hold wisdom to be priceless and precious in our walk with the Lord.

Today I encourage you to seek the wisdom of the Lord in every area of your life. When you know you have it, hold fast to it and do not turn away from it. Know that as you remain faithful to God and His precious wisdom that it will keep you protected and it will watch over the affairs of your life.

“In His Presence”

Posted on Mar 16, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Psalm 16:11 (CJB)
“You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.”

The other evening I stopped by the flower shop to pick up some unique stems of flowers for a photography project I was working on. As the clerk was wrapping them she asked me how long it would be till I would get home with them. She said, “These cannot be out of water any longer than thirty minutes.” Although I felt I would make it home on time, I asked her to do a water wrap on them just in case I hit bad traffic.

Many times everyday experiences make me think a lot about spiritual truths. Jesus taught in parables a lot because it brought spiritual truths alive through the earthly stories He would share. I began to think about how I valued these flowers and how pretty they were. I also realized that because they were so different that they required special care. It caused me to think about the importance of being mindful that I cannot afford to be out of God’s presence, not even thirty minutes. The life He has given me is so special, and it must be guarded as well. Because He loves me so much, and created me so uniquely for a purpose, I need to value and heed to the truth that He desires that I remain in His presence that my spirit remained nourished by Him.

As I ponder staying in God’s presence I am also thinking about how Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us. You see it is our choice that we must make to value staying in His presence, and doing whatever it takes to make that a lifestyle. I love how this translation is written. God presence is unbounded joy! Think about it, joy that has no limits, borders, or bounds. It is unrestrained, and uncontrolled. Let us also remember the scripture that says the joy of the Lord is our strength.

I encourage you today to think about staying in the presence of your Lord. Think about how He desires that you remain there. Even in the midst of our jobs and daily responsibilities, God desires that we acknowledge His presence, and He wants us to bask in it! The same way that my flowers needed to be drawing on the life giving qualities of the water, we too need to stay in His presence that we draw upon His life continually.

“Trust the Lord Completely”

Posted on Mar 15, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ERV)

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.”

Sometimes the easiest thing to do is rely on our own thoughts and understanding in matters we face. Many times we can overlook the fact that God is 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. After all, God’s perspective is the ONLY perspective we should want.

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. Oh how sweet it is when we recognize that Jesus is walking along side of us, and desires to be a part of even the smallest of things in our life. He desires that we totally trust in Him for everything, yet we are hindered by our own ability and understanding at times.

There are different ways that we can lean to our own understanding. You may have a very strong opinion about something and that is okay but then again our opinions must always be based on truth or they can get us in trouble. Sometimes leaning on our own understanding can become like a crutch or a comfy place. You may be tending to resist looking beyond your own ways unto God’s ways therefore it hinders you from trusting Him.

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. Today I encourage you to learn of Him and lean on Him. With every step you take think about what He wants, and He promises to direct you in the right way!

“The Cost of Humility”

Posted on Mar 14, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

Sometimes it can be the hardest thing in the world to say “I am sorry, please forgive me.” I can remember hearing a woman’s testimony that just really touched my heart. The woman sharing her testimony had done something offensive in her workplace. She admitted that she knew she was wrong, and she knew the right thing to do. Even though it was hard she walked into her bosses office, and admitted she was wrong. The thing that hit me the hardest was the joy that was in her voice as she tried to explain how good it felt to just humble herself. Sometimes humbling ourselves can really make our flesh squirm, but the end result is pure joy and freedom.

When I think of the word HUMILITY, the thing that comes to my mind is that there is cost and there is blessing in the obedience of striving to be humble in all circumstances. Depending on the situation the cost may be admitting to someone that you were wrong. Sometimes the cost is keeping your opinion to yourself, and not exalting it when you are busting at the seams to just tell someone what you think. Of course self control works hand in hand, nevertheless, it takes you giving something so your heart can be at peace again. The blessing of humility is that peace has been restored to your soul, and this is worth it all! A very important thing to cling to is knowing that God is able to help us when we remain humble, for His hands are tied with the proud man. He can do no work in the heart that resists Him.

1 Peter 5:5 (CEV)

“God opposes proud people,
but he helps everyone
who is humble.”

There will be times that the Lord will show us areas of our hearts in which we need to humble ourselves. Pride is such an enemy to our soul and it is a destructive thing. Let us seek Him as to how we continue to grow in humility and receive His grace as we do so. Let us praise the God that promises to be our help as we remain humble in His sight.

“Keep Your Mind Fixed”

Posted on Mar 13, 2015 in Devotions |

Philippians 4:8
Amplified Bible (AMP)
“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.”

As Paul wrote this in Philippians he was stating the importance of understanding what you are thinking about at all times. I think it would do us all good if we paused on a regular basis during our busy days and ask ourselves…”Right now, where is my mind fixed, what is captivating my thoughts?” When God’s Word is not permeating our mind, we can quickly feel overwhelmed and moved by that which is going on around us. If we are weak and feel alone, we can easily be sucked into depths of sorrow and sadness. Circumstance can cause anger and fear as well. God will always show us how to rise above what is going on around us as we stay full and overflowing as we draw upon Him, especially in the realm of our thought life.

Paul said to practice this habit of keeping your mind fixed on all that has virtue and excellence.

“Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,

and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace

(of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.”

I encourage you to model your way of living by Paul’s example. Take inventory of your thoughts as much as you can. I hope you will value the blessing and benefits of your mind being filled with sweet things. Let your mind be busy with thinking about anything that would bring blessing to God and those around you. God is good, and He desires that we too live to bring His goodness to everyone we encounter! God bless you!

“But When You Ask…”

Posted on Mar 12, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

I was meditating upon James chapter one this morning, and would like to share with you about the word ~expect~. I had an experience yesterday, and I feel this is somewhat of a good analogy of the truth regarding expecting from God. I went to the drug store to pick up a few items. I paid for all my items, and headed for the exit door, and the shop lifter alarm went off. Oh my…I hate when this happens!!!! I turned and looked at the young lady that just helped me at the register, and said “What do we do now?” She knew what I meant because I paid for all that was in my bag. I ~expected~ her to deal with this and help me because I knew I paid for it, and she knew I paid for it. She said, “Don’t worry about it, just ignore the alarm and go.” You see, when I walked into the store, I decided what I wanted to buy but in order to walk out the door, it must be paid for first. I knew that I did exactly what is expected from a customer in a store. We all know that you do not pick something up and just walk out the door with it. The rule is that you pay first, and then that product is your possession. Today we are looking at rules or guidelines that the Lord has laid out in His Word regarding receiving from Him.

When we pray, God desires we follow specific steps in receiving. We cannot decide to make up our own rules about such things, so why is it at times people think they can create their own rules regarding spiritual things and still~expect~ God to come through for them? Keep that thought in mind and read this scripture:

James 1:6-8 (NIV)

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

God knows our needs and desires, and as we pray for them we need to be in total faith and not waver. James lays it out here that we MUST believe and no doubting is allowed. He likens a doubter to a wave that is blown and tossed by the wind. You see, when you ask in faith and determine to resist doubt you can expect the desired outcome. James never said that when you asked in faith there will be smooth sailing did he? It is more than likely that we will encounter challenges and detours as we determine to stand in faith for something. No matter what “alarms” go off around us, we are able to stand in faith, because we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have followed the precepts that the Lord has asked of us.

Today I encourage you to be single-minded and stable in all that you do. With God’s help you can, and you will stand in that place of great expectation from Whom all blessings flow!

“Let Us Receive”

Posted on Mar 11, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

“You open Your hand
and they are filled
with good things.”

Psalm 104:28b

Today I want to share about how important it is that we pay attention to our hearts. Is your heart being kept full, strengthened and maintained by the power of the Holy Spirit? You know He desires that we be full and stay full that we may live the victorious life that He intends for us to live. How many things in life do we diligently pay attention to ? Just think about it …our gas tanks, our bank accounts, the parking meter, food in the refrigerator, etc… We keep a mental note and physical notes that we are maintaining these things, yet our spiritual being could be totally starving and dehydrated, and we do not even notice. When we are starving and dehydrated in our spirit man, eventually we are going to pay for it. We will not have the strength that we need, therefore we cannot persevere. As our peace is no longer present, we will react to things in a way that we wished we had not. On and on I could go sharing about the good things that God desires we stay full of as we maintain our time with Him and in His Word. He desires we be full! His hands are full of good things, and He desires you partake of them!

Let us diligently watch over the gauge of our hearts and minds. Pay attention to the warning signals. Let us be watchful that we do not become deficient in things that He desires we be filled with. We actually come to this place of when we begin to live life from our own resources and our own ability. When we stop trusting God for the littlest of things, it eventually snowballs into every area of our life. God desires to fill us that we bubble over with hope as we trust in Him. As He fills you there will be new strength. Your youth will be renewed as the eagle. I encourage you to receive from His hand today. God is so good, trust in Him!!!

Romans 15:13 ERV
“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much
joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more
and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“and He Shall”

Posted on Mar 10, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

These three words AND HE SHALL are powerful words to ponder. With God there is no ifs, ands, or buts….God says HE SHALL!!!! Our God is faithful, and if He says He is going to do something, He never wavers, He never changes, and He does not have mood swings nor does He have favorite kids. I love knowing that God has promised to keep His Word with all of His children, and He will perform it in our lives.

Let us continue to give thanks to the Lord for the many things that He does for us. Be thankful in the good times but also in the storms. Have you ever been weary while in a storm? I think we can all acknowledge that some time in our lives we have experienced being weary and have been tempted to lose heart in a matter. Our God is the faithful one that says, “I SHALL strengthen your heart!” What a beautiful promise to rejoice and be thankful for!

Psalm 27:14(KJV)
“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage,

and he shall

strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Let us ponder the three words “AND HE SHALL”. The scripture does not say “wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and it is likely he will strengthen your heart.” Nor did it say “wait on the the Lord: be of good courage and perhaps he will strengthen your heart.” NO! it says, “He shall.” If He said He shall, then He will! Today let us meditate of having hearts that are determined to wait and be of good courage because the faithful One has promised to strengthen us.

“As You Awaken Each Day”

Posted on Mar 9, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

It is important that we face our days with the acknowledgment of the rich and tender mercies of the Lord! When you wake, are you only consumed with the duties of your day or do you pause and thank Him for His new mercies? You know…that is so important. Even if you only have a few minutes, it will make the difference in your whole day.

Maybe you are reading this first thing n the morning or maybe you started your day many hours ago. Regardless of when you are reading this, I want to bring to your heart a reminder of God’s wonderful mercies in your life. No matter how busy your day is, and no matter how good or bad it seems to be going, I encourage you to ponder this…

Lamentations 3:22-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
“The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted,
his compassion is not spent;
They are renewed each morning—
great is your faithfulness!”

As we look to Him at the start of our day we can stand believing for bountiful blessings flowing from His hand into our life. We can know that everything we will need to sustain us is there, and all we have to do is ask Him for it. I love knowing that I serve a God that is FULL of mercy and He promises that it never runs out nor can it be exhausted! As you meditate upon this, I encourage you to set your gaze upon Him and allow your spirit to receive all that He has for you today. We can look to Him in prayer and believe that His fullness will be upon us as we trust in Him.

Psalm 90:17

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and direct thou the work of our hands upon us…”

I believe as we allow His beauty or His grace to be upon us, He will direct the work of our hands. He will begin to deal with how we view everything. He is well able to put us in alignment with His will as we stay humble to Him. He will in turn cause all that we set our hand to to be blessed and prosperous.

“Create In Me…”

Posted on Mar 8, 2015 in Devotions |

by Dona Hake

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and
renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me..”
Psalm 51:10

As the psalmist prayed here you can see he plainly realized that he had lost something, and he wanted it back. He was walking in the blessing of feeling right, he was a persevering person with a spirit that was steadfast, yet he knew something was wrong. When we mess up and do not ask the Lord to help us, things are not the same. The longer we put it off the more we will become callous to our spirit trying to let us know that something is not right within us.

I have shared this little teaching analogy before but it will serve to minister to your heart again since we are looking at cleansing and renewal. I can still remember when I shared with some preschoolers a simple little object lesson about forgiveness. It was precious watching their innocent little faces and their eyes light up as they took hold of the truth. I was teaching them the importance of knowing their hearts were clean. I mixed up a big old batch of mud. I took them all outside and we sat down around the bowl of mud. I squished my hands into the mud (may I add the little boys were loving how gross it was!) and rubbed it up and down my arms and my hands were caked with mud. I emphasized to them how bad it felt not to be clean, and I just wanted it off of me.

I shared with them that the mud was symbolic of our mistakes, our sins, etc. I had a pitcher of fresh, clean water beside me. As I poured the pure, clean water over me, the mud totally cleansed my arms and hands, and into the ground the mud was absorbed. “Where is the mud?” I asked them, and the point was made beautifully. It could not be seen anymore and it was gone! These kind of visual analogies are so powerful, not just for children but adults as well.

Psalm 51:2-3 Amplified
“Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! For I am conscious of my transgressions and

I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.”

There are two key words here that the writer wrote and these are our keys to living with a clean heart and those words are CONSCIOUS and ACKNOWLEDGE. It is plain and simple, as we stay conscious of the condition of our hearts and we acknowledge it before God, He will always help us, and work within us and renew us again. Let us be quick to humble and repent when we are out of align with His perfect will. We serve a merciful and loving God. Think about anything that has hindered your steadfastness and strength in Him and ask Him to cleanse it so your heart pure and totally restored. This is truly freedom!