There have been many times in past years, even decades, that my life did not track the way I thought it would. Yet, I learned that when it doesn’t track according to my plan, that doesn’t mean it isn’t tracking according to God’s plan. When I watched my life take twists and turns that did not seem to add up to any expectation of what I perceived to be God’s plan for my life, I wrestled with how to deal with the perplexing turns my life was taking.

I know God is in the business of changing, moulding, shaping, and testing us. There will be unexpected twists and turns in the events of our lives that will make us wonder what God is doing and the answer won’t seem clear at all. That is part of the test to see if we are serious about the work He has called us to do. It is also part of the test to see if we are willing to be changed, moulded, and prepared for what He has planned for us in His perfect timing, perfect way, and in His perfect will.

I don’t know if the perplexing part of my journey was God changing me, preparing me, testing me, or the enemy assaulting me, or if it was all of those. If God was changing me, I am definitely a different person now. If He was testing me, I want to pass the test.  If He was preparing me, I am thankful for the work He is doing in me. If the enemy was attacking me, he failed.

God is building something out of our lives, and the beginning product does not look like the finished product. God is the one with the blueprint and the plan. Looking back across the years of my life’s journey, I can trace God’s work in my life through many turns in the road, including detours and disappointments, along with joy and blessings. Ultimately, His will is being accomplished in my life, and I choose to walk this road with Him, even when I don’t know where the road is leading.

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

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“I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.” Psalm 116:1-2

A new morning begins
Here starts another day
Here goes another week
I will go where He leads
I will call and I will wait upon the Lord

I hope this week finds you hand in hand with the Lord, walking with Him in sweet fellowship and knowing all the love He has for you.

Romans 5:5

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

I hope this new week takes you places where the desires of your heart will be fulfilled and new doors open before you as you follow the Lord. 

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

And if you are waiting for something, something you have prayed and sought the Lord about, and wondering when it will come to pass, wait in the strength He’s given us when we fully place our trust in Him.

Isaiah 40:31

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

If we take His hand and follow where He leads, and continue to call upon the Lord and trustingly wait for His answers, we can rest knowing we are exactly in the place where we are supposed to be. That place is where His will for us is accomplished in our lives.

Hebrews 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

The post Call and Wait Upon the Lord appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.”  Psalm 8:3-5

There are days I want to say many things about God and faith, His grace and mercy and other aspects of this mysterious relationship we have with Him. But I can’t find the words that will adequately express what is stirring in my heart. The more I think about the privilege we have in walking in relationship with Him the more perplexed explaining it becomes.

The words are hard to find because who can explain God? Why is He mindful of us? Why does He want a close relationship with us? His Spirit that lives inside of me works in secret ways that no one else can explain. Not the highest scholar. Not the greatest theologian. Even the psalmist David grasps for words as he searches deep unto deep–trying to comprehend what cannot be understood.

By faith we understand this mystery is the treasure given us by our unseen God. As He lives in us day by day He continually works in us to build the relationship He designed mankind to have with Him – going all the way back to the garden of Eden in Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve. For the rest of the Bible our story unfolds as we see God still pursuing us, always pursuing us.

Instead of falling for the lies of the enemy and reaching for the forbidden fruit, let us reach for the Lord. Let us reach for God so we can walk in the garden in relationship with Him. Let’s reach for Him to know Him more. 

Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.  “

Psalm 42:7-8 “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me. The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—A prayer to the God of my life.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission
From:First Breath of Morning: Where God Waits For You Every Day.

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

FURTHER READING

Who God Is

God’s Loving Pursuit

To Behold the Face of God

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The post The Deep Mystery appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Do we know when we need to rest, or do we think we are super human and can go on and on forever? I tend to think we believe that with enough determination and caffeine we can go on forever. Are we thinking about what our body and soul truly needs when we are pushing ourselves beyond our limits?

What is on your plate right now? Maybe you have a full plate or far too much on your plate. Maybe you have some hard things on your plate right now and haven’t even considered taking care of yourself with some body and soul rest.

We might not want to admit it, even when caring people around us are suggesting it – we need rest.

If you are experiencing extreme weariness, frustration, and discouragement – the best remedy is to give all your cares to the Lord and rest in knowing He can carry it all. When you finally let go and stop wrestling, and instead rest, you will soon recognize that you are experiencing something new. In letting go and resting, you will find you are growing strong again.

Your strength is renewed when you let go and find God’s rest.

Can you begin to imagine the incredible source of strength that comes from our Almighty All-Powerful God? Now, imagine… He is offering it to you.

Yes, the ultimate mystery and blessing is that when you find God’s rest you will also find God’s strength.

Matthew 11:28
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Isaiah 40:31
“But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

1 Peter 5:7
“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

Renew Our Strength

Strength Comes from God

Renewed

The post When You Need Body and Soul Rest appeared first on Thoughts About God.

There have been many times in past years, even decades, that my life did not track the way I thought it would. Yet, I learned that when it doesn’t track according to my plan, that doesn’t mean it isn’t tracking according to God’s plan. When I watched my life take twists and turns that did not seem to add up to any expectation of what I perceived to be God’s plan for my life, I wrestled with how to deal with the perplexing turns my life was taking.

I know God is in the business of changing, moulding, shaping, and testing us. There will be unexpected twists and turns in the events of our lives that will make us wonder what God is doing and the answer won’t seem clear at all. That is part of the test to see if we are serious about the work He has called us to do. It is also part of the test to see if we are willing to be changed, moulded, and prepared for what He has planned for us in His perfect timing, perfect way, and in His perfect will.

I don’t know if the perplexing part of my journey was God changing me, preparing me, testing me, or the enemy assaulting me, or if it was all of those. If God was changing me, I am definitely a different person now. If He was testing me, I want to pass the test.  If He was preparing me, I am thankful for the work He is doing in me. If the enemy was attacking me, he failed.

God is building something out of our lives, and the beginning product does not look like the finished product. God is the one with the blueprint and the plan. Looking back across the years of my life’s journey, I can trace God’s work in my life through many turns in the road, including detours and disappointments, along with joy and blessings. Ultimately, His will is being accomplished in my life, and I choose to walk this road with Him, even when I don’t know where the road is leading.

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

From: https://www.kathycheek.com/

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

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Control. I hear this word too often in discussions as I sit in circles of chairs or sit around tables in Bible studies, and the other word I am hearing too often is perfection. Yet, from the same group, the same mouths, I hear these other words…anxiety, stress, fear, and exhaustion.

I don’t understand it. How can we ever think we have control? Why do we demand it and think we must have it? Why does it dominate our thinking when we absolutely do not control anything? Maybe we think we do—but we don’t. And if we think we do, it is only a matter of time until we find out, we certainly do not. Eventually a set of circumstances will occur in our lives that will have us throwing up our hands in helplessness and we will know only God can help us now.

Only God has control. He is a Sovereign God. He is perfection.

We can let go of what we have thought was control, and we can stop striving for unattainable perfection, and we can be free. When we let go and turn it all over to Him, we gain freedom in return. When we walk in freedom, which is a result of fully trusting Him—the anxiety and fear will not control us.

It is hard to live in freedom when we hold so tightly in our grip that which God wants us to release to Him. Why is it so hard to let go? God has a hold of it…far better than we do. Why not trust? Why not yield fully to Him?

Does all of that control bring anything besides control? Are we going to allow control to… control us?

Control, or freedom. We can’t have both, they will not co-exist.

Let’s choose freedom and fully trusting God and not ourselves.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

God Is Always In Control

Learning to Give Control to God

Out of Control

The post Do You Want Control or Freedom? appeared first on Thoughts About God.

In our homes with lights aglow, stockings hung with care and cookies baking in the oven, our lives can look like a Christmas card. But sometimes it looks like something else. It can look harsher, colder, and even very lonely. Sometimes, Christmas can be hard. It doesn’t look like a Christmas card, or a happily ending Christmas movie.

What do we do when life is hard and we don’t know what to do?

Hold tight to our faith and keep our trust in God.

Sometimes, there are those things we can never fix and things that we can never change. Sometimes, there are circumstances and trials we’ll never understand, those things we’ll never know the reason why. Sometimes, we face situations that will test our faith and test our trust in God.

Faith is trusting that God is there
And knowing He is always in control.
Faith is staying close to Him
No matter what comes your way,
And believing He will meet your every need.

Faith is knowing that He loves you
And will never leave you or forsake you.
Faith is believing that in all things
He has a purpose and a plan.

Faith is knowing
You don’t have to understand it all
To keep your trust in Him.

Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• Lonely Holiday
• Lonely? Discouraged?
• The Landlady’s Christmas Gift

The post When Life is Not a Christmas Card appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Here is where I breathe You deep inside my heart,
Here is where You make me strong and make me more like You.
Here is where You pour Your love like a river over me,
Here is where my heart finds more of You.

Here is where I come to You, Lord,

With all that I am,

You come to me

With all You made me to be.

Where is Here?

The place…
The time…
Any place, any time of the day that I draw aside and spend time alone with the Lord, purposing to draw near to Him in close and intimate communion.

Here

Is where I am with Him and He is here with me.
He made us for this!
Let’s not miss out on the richness of drawing close to Him.

Oh, Father, I am glad I don’t have to look far or seek long to find You. I can look into a great big sky and always find You near. I can look into my heart and always know You’re here.

Jeremiah 29:13

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Psalm 27:8

When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

Acts 17:27-28

So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• They Say I’m Nothing, but I’m Something by Londeka Zondi
• When I say… “I am a Christian” – by Carol Wimmer
• My Lord, My Companion

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“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.  Ephesians 4:26-27

A friend was going through a difficult circumstance and I was always very careful about how I approached the sensitive subject with her. She still had a lot of anger and I was giving her space and room to work through it.

After many months had gone by I asked her if she was experiencing God’s nearness, His presence, His comfort helping her through the process of coping with what had happened.

She quickly said, “No, not at all.”

I was silent. I was silent because I was surprised.

That didn’t sound like how God is.

He is our God of comfort.
He is near.
He is with us.
He understands what we are going through.
He is our helper. 

I realize there are extreme circumstances when anger is where we live for a while and we can hardly even deal with God at that point. But this was not that kind of circumstance.

In her answer I still heard the anger. The kind of anger that is unhealthy. My friend already knew that and so I didn’t spend much time trying to remind her. I knew I risked offending her at this point and backed off and decided to approach her about it again at a later date.

Prolonged anger is completely different than initially experiencing anger and then finding a healthy way to deal with it. When we are hurt and angry we are extremely vulnerable to veering off in a direction that takes us away from God and not closer to Him for the help we so desperately need.

Anger is certain to hinder the nearness of God and the healing work He desires to do.

When we lay our hurt and anger at His feet and let it go, then something amazing happens. He moves us out of the place of anger and into a place of healing. The weight that anger was pressing on us is lifted and we will experience the nearness of God again. He never moved. Anger moves us away from Him.

The only way to manage anger is to let it go.

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• The Danger of Anger
• Watch Your Anger – Psalm 37:8
• Dealing With Anger
• What’s the Tone in Your Home These Days?

The post Anger Management appeared first on Thoughts About God.

I read a devotion the other day on trusting God through the fog, the writer recounting a difficult drive down a foggy mountain road and trusting God to take her safely home.

I have not had that experience of driving down a foggy mountain road. And yet, recently…I created my own fog on a bright sunny day.

Nothing had changed. A blinding fog did not roll in and obscure my view. I just took my eyes off what God can do and let circumstances overwhelm me with doubt and fear. I was not a friend to myself. I was a saboteur of my own journey.

For a while I let a thick fog swirl around me and swallow up my hope and faith and pull me into a dark place where discouragement filled my heart.

We all have those days when praying, waiting, and working toward something are met with discouragement. We often find we derail our confidence in the Lord with our own weakness and wrong thinking because for a while we take our eyes off of Him and instead let a fog of doubt and worry surround us. The fog comes rolling in when I take my eyes off of the Lord.

It is a miserable place to be when we feel like we have lost our way and can’t find a clear solution.

There are multiple possibilities for our discouragement. Here are just a few:

• We become impatient because we have already waited a very long time for answers.
• We might convince ourselves we have asked for too much or too big and back down from our asking.
• We don’t see any signs of change in our difficult situation and hopelessness leads to great frustration.
• Our task looks too complicated to complete and we feel like giving up.

We will all go through discouragement when faced with the above type scenarios. But will we let discouragement rule our lives, or will we place our trust in God to work those things that we can’t comprehend? Will we remind ourselves how He has worked for our good in other difficult times?

When I realized that all the negativity I was experiencing was a product of my own doing and that my reasons for discouragement were based on feelings and emotions run amuck, the fog began to lift and clear thinking prevailed. I stood my ground with faith and trust and let the sun break through all the fog.

When my self-imposed fog lifted and I experienced the fresh air of hope and faith once more, I truly felt a wave of energy surge through my body, heart and soul. God’s indwelling spirit renewed me and I welcomed His faithfulness to me as His strength overcame my weakness and I felt strong and whole. The sky was blue again, the sun was shining and all fog had lifted away.

Isaiah 40:31”But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

www.kathycheek.com

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“I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” Psalm 3:4-5 NKJV

At the end of the day when the day is done, after the setting of the sun … a good night’s sleep is calling your name.

You can already imagine your head softly sinking into your pillow.

You slip that last plate in the dishwasher, wipe off the counter and turn off the kitchen light.

Night has come. Rest awaits you.

Was it a day walked well with the Lord?

Did you talk to Him and rejoice in knowing you are His?

Did you tell Him all your hearts’ desires and trust they are safe in His care?

Did you cast all your worries into His hands, the big and the small and all the in between?

Did you trust Him with that fear that crept into your thoughts uninvited?

Did you acknowledge He is the one who knows what’s best?

At the end of the day when the day is done, was it a day walked well with the Lord?

“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 NKJV

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

The post At the End of the Day appeared first on Thoughts About God.

I walk slowly when I pass this tree on the dirt path at the edge of the woods when walking by the creek near my home. Some of the branches overhanging the path are just a little too close for comfort and so I proceed with caution. Because I remember what it feels like to have a thorn painfully piercing the flesh of my arm when I was a little girl.

I don’t remember the specific details of an ordinary afternoon playing in some woods with neighborhood friends, but I do remember it happened when I was six years old and a sharp thorn ended up lodged in my arm, close to my elbow, and I remember my mom and dad coming at me with tweezers to pull it out. I have not forgotten how much I dreaded that pain and clearly indicated it with fierce screaming, on top of the crying I was already doing because a thorn was stuck in my arm.

They had to firmly hold me down, forcing me to be still because I didn’t make it easy for them to remove the painful object. But once it was out and the wound had been cleaned and medicated, the pain eased, and I was up and playing again in no time. The thorn was gone.

Holding onto pain is like living with a thorn lodged in your heart that needs to be removed. Sometimes that means intentionally choosing to let it go even when that seems the most difficult thing to do, and yet you know for your own well-being it has to be done.

It isn’t healthy to keep a thorn in your arm, and it isn’t healthy to hold a hurt in your heart. God wants you to heal. This is His desire for you. He doesn’t want you to go through life handicapped by a neglected wound He wants to heal.

The place where you let it go—is the place He comes in and heals you, and the deep wound becomes a place of healing. God replaces the past and present pain with present and future wholeness…and hope.

He can do that for you because God has healing in His hands.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” ~Psalm 147:3

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

Are you hanging onto pain? Do you have Jesus in your life so he can bind it up and heal it?   Would you like to have a relationship with Him? If you do,  you can start today by committing and submitting your life to him. It starts with a simple heart felt prayer:

Lord, thank You for dying so we can be set free from all of guilt and sin — no matter how big or small.  Your blood has erased all of our sin. Thank You so much! Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen

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