by Cherie Hill

In times of great uncertainty, when despair rages within us, we find ourselves living life bound by this world and our spirit struggles to be set free from the chains that bind us. Our prayers bombard the heavens and it seems as though the chains only become heavier as we plead for God’s help and mercy. But, what we find is that we are only bound because our faith has failed in the face of fear. If we are focused upon the things of “this world” and we aren’t continually surrendering every area of our lives to Almighty God… we are a sitting target. When we’re facing the burdens of this life and we’re overwhelmed with the impossibilities, we must look at our faith. When our eyes are fixed upon God and our faith is grounded in Him, we are free.

Whatever it is that holds you captive and keeps you bound is the thing that God will use to show you His glory. Each obstacle you face in life is your opportunity to step forward in your faith in God. It is your chance to pass a test; declaring that your faith in God will not be moved. In your brokenness and weakest moment, God is asking you to pay the price for the freedom He offers; freedom does not come without a price. We must die to self. Those emotions of doubt and despair, causing you to constantly feel trapped, are the enemy’s tools; there’s a barrier being built between you and God. The enemy’s desire is to get the best of you. He wants you living in fear; the defeated life. Read the rest of this entry »

by Cherie Hill

With all the struggles we face in a day, it’s evident that we need a little help. “Help” has a lot of meanings. Help means to give assistance or support to, to make more pleasant or bearable, and to change for the better. Help is also defined as rescuing or saving. At some point in our lives, we need rescuing and saving; but too often, our situations are impossible through human resources alone, we need God. Only He can do the impossible. We need the Maker of the heavens and the earth to intervene in our situations to assist us, support us, to make things more pleasant and bearable, and change things for the better. We need to be saved by God.

“I look up to the mountains- does my help come from there? My help comes for the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!”  Psalm 121:1-2 (NLT) Read the rest of this entry »

by Cherie Hill

We’ve all heard, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Growing up…we might have even truly believed that saying. But as we grow older, we discover that we would actually prefer the sticks and stones…broken bones heal. The fact of the matter is that words hurt, and sometimes they cut deep enough to leave permanent scars. Before we know it, the root of bitterness and anger take hold and we find ourselves wrestling with how to bring justice to our suffering.

At times, there are people in our lives that we just stop praying for; we’ve all done it at some time or other, maybe without really realizing it. We beg God to have mercy on us for the wrongs that we’ve done, but cry out for justice upon those who have committed wrongs towards us. We find ourselves shutting people out who might live life contrary to our beliefs; those who don’t quite meet up to our expectations. (I’m certain there is someone you can think of at this very moment whose attitudes and actions irritate or inconvenience you.) They can bug us so much that it becomes “painful.” If they’ve hurt us in some way, either intentionally or unintentionally, we tend to shut them out. We “sign off” from them and forget the heart of God who is relentlessly committed to sinners. Jesus died for the ungodly. That includes you and me…and those who hurt us or offend us. That means we sin against God when we cease praying for them. Read the rest of this entry »

If we can be certain of anything, it’s that life is full of uncertainties. We can often conclude that God just isn’t meeting our expectations—He’s not showing up when He should and He’s not doing what we thought He would. What we fail to remember is that God promises to do infinitely more than we can ever dare to hope for or imagine. He has a greater vision and a much better plan. (Ephesians 3:20; Isaiah 55:9) Things were no different during the time of Jesus’ death. His Disciples and those who loved Him had expectations for Him in their lives. But, all that ended with His crucifixion…..or so they thought.

As Mary went to the tomb that Easter morning, filled with grief over the death of her Lord and Savior, her grief was overwhelmed with an even greater burden when she found Him to be missing. (The Romans and Jewish leaders had Jesus in a grave where they could watch over Him and Jesus’ followers wanted Him to be in a place they could find him.) But, when Mary arrived, Jesus was gone. Those that Jesus loved were so consumed with grief that they were focused on their pain and emptiness, instead of His Promises. In Matthew 20:18-19 (NIV) Jesus said,

“and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.
They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.On the third day he will be raised to life!”

God is faithful to His Promises—don’t forget that—there is no exception. So, on that day, in John 20: 11-14…..we find Mary in a state of distress beyond comprehension: “but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.” Read the rest of this entry »

Each day we are given the opportunity to attribute our many blessings to God and lift Him up in praise. But, too often, we miss that opportunity and we attribute the events in our lives as having been “lucky” or “unlucky.” It is in believing the Word of God that we know there is no such thing as “luck.” When we apply the Truth to every intricate detail of our lives, we can not only draw closer to God, but we can gain an internal peace that surpasses all understanding. We can enter the rest of God when we understand that there is NOTHING that occurs without the God Almighty’s knowledge and approval. (Job 1:6-12; Matthew 1:29-31; John 19:11) God has approved every struggle, setback, and failure, that you and I face, and He has promised that He will use it all for something good. Although we cannot see the Divine plan, God has given us His Word to encourage us and sustain us through the greatest of trials. As He arranges all circumstances into His good and perfect will.

One of our greatest mistakes is seeing trials, tribulations, and tragedy, as just that. The greatest failures and setbacks in the eyes of God can look like new beginnings and great victory. Take for example, the death of Christ. Would you say that the innocent death of Christ was a good thing? Well, now that we are on the other side of the situation, we see for certain that it was. At the time, however, those closest to Him, believed it was the most dreadful event in history. They could not see Christ’s death from God’s Divine perspective. (John 14:29; John 16:19-22; Matthew 16:23) It was the price that had to be paid by a God who loves us without end. Read the rest of this entry »

We face more decisions in a day than most of us can count—those decisions we make influence our life in more ways than we can understand. So what decisions are you facing in your life today? Maybe you’re faced with a decision over which job to take, whether or not you should sell your home to pay the bills, or something as simple as what to eat for lunch—whatever decisions needs to be made, they should never be made without first asking for God’s advice.

Too often, when we are faced with a decision, no matter how large or how small, we tend to look to ourselves and others—we seek the counsel of many people other than God. In 1 Kings 22:5 (NLT) we’re told, “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.” We can only imagine the kind of victory we would walk in daily, if every child of God never made a decision without FIRST finding out what God said about it all. Too many people have made irreversible decisions which have driven them onto a wrong path for the rest of their life—don’t underestimate the decisions you make in your life, no matter how insignificant you might think they are. God wants to be involved in every decision you make; He wants to be involved in every area of your life, because He wants you living life abundantly in His peace.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Cherie Hill

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day to day routine; it consumes our lives and can, at times, rob us of our joy. It has been said, “Life is like a coin-You can spend it any way you choose, but you can only spend it once.” Definitely something to think about as we rush through our busy lives, only to find we wake up one day and we’re at the end of it; we’re left wondering where the time went and filled with thoughts of how we would have lived life differently.

When you discover the richness of God in your life, acknowledging the many blessings He has provided, you find yourself living in the present; living life to the full and overjoyed with the grace God has provided for the moment.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (AMP) says,
“Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, and the power to enjoy them and to accept his appointed lot and to rejoice in his toil–this is the gift of God [to him]. For he shall not much remember [seriously] the days of his life, because God [Himself] answers and corresponds to the joy of his heart [the tranquility of God is mirrored in him].”

Don’t be trapped by the ways of this world. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. Our joy will not come from who we know, where we live, or what we drive. Our joy should come from knowing that the God of the universe loves us enough to walk with us as we grab hold of His hand. He takes the time, out of His obviously busy schedule, to meet us right where we are. He doesn’t want us looking back with regrets, but focusing upon Him in the present moment. He’s given us forgiveness for the past, faith for the future, and His grace for the present moment. He didn’t send His son so that we would be consumed with worry and filled with despair. He’s told us quite the opposite in John 10:10 (AMP): Read the rest of this entry »

One of our greatest needs is to know that we are loved. We long to be certain that someone loves us, cares for us, and only wants what is best for us. God wants you to know that He loves you in a way that is too complex for words. You should never spend one day, hour, or minute, without knowing that God loves you more than you can comprehend. His love cannot compare to anything of “this world” and He could never love you anymore or any less than He did at the moment He gave you life.

Not only does God love you enough to give you life, but He loves you enough to give you eternal life. When you lift up your eyes to God and confess sin, He will forgive you and transform your life by giving you hope through Christ that never dies.

God’s love reaches out to the lost and lonely, those who are bound by sin, and sets them free through forgiveness, repentance, and His grace. No matter what we have done in the past, His love toward us remains consistent, committed, and without limitations.

God’s love is freely given, but not always freely received. Many times, we distance ourselves from God because we feel we are not worthy to receive His love. Yet in believing Truth, His Word, we know with all certainty that nothing we do or say can separate us from His love.
We’re promised in Romans 8:39 (NLT), Read the rest of this entry »

More than likely, you’ve questioned God a few times in your life. It is often difficult to see His ways, much less understand them- until you look back and hindsight yields insight. If you find yourself second guessing God, you’re not alone; even the greatest of God’s children have questioned God. But, what they found, and what you will find, is that for all the questions you have for God- He has questions for you too.

If you haven’t read the book of Job, I would encourage you to do so. You’ll find A LOT of suffering and an amazing glimpse of how God works in our lives. After Job has lost everything, his children-through tragic death, his wealth, the support of his wife, and his health, he cried out to a God who seemed to have abandoned him. But, when God answers Him, he is humbled in an instant when he realizes, he is so very small in the scheme of things and God is so VERY big. After God helps him to realize his place in the world, God restores his life and blesses him twice as much as before the tragedies of his life. The greatest blessing was a heart to heart, one on one, experience with the one true God. God wants to bring you to this place too- He wants you to experience Him “one on one,” in a way that will secure your faith in Him forever.

When we talk about questioning God, we can’t help but think of Noah. Now, here’s a man who saw no rain when God told him to build an ark. This wasn’t just trusting God for a year or two-it took Noah one hundred years to build the ark! I’m guessing He must have questioned God from time to time. The important thing is that Noah kept walking forward in faith. If we’re to reap any of God’s abundant blessings in our lives, we must do the same, we must sow a life of obedience. Read the rest of this entry »

Many years ago, I faced incredible distress and despair as I struggled to let go of my past. Most people have walked down this same path in life. It may be the result of the sins of others, or it might be your own sins that weigh heavy upon you and keep you bound; regardless, the result is still the same- a burden that drains your spirit and turmoil within that keeps you from entering into the rest of God.

As I struggled to walk forward with God, one day, I found myself driving down the road looking in the rear view mirror- focusing on what was behind me. I kept looking back and looking around in my side view mirrors and then, I heard a still quiet voice say to me, “There’s no past in your future.” When you hear words like that, you know right away, you’ve heard from God. I will never forget those words and I hope that whatever it is you’re facing in life today, you’ll accept those words from God as well- “There’s no past in your future.” If we are unable to let go of what lies behind, we’ll never move forward in life. Holding on to the past keeps us from embracing God’s future for us. You see, most of the time God has forgiven us, but we continue to hold on to un-forgiveness in our hearts; we keep bringing up what God has already forgotten. Isaiah 43:18 (NIV) says,

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”
Read the rest of this entry »