“The Wide Space Of The Father”

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he love.”(Ephesians 1: 4 – 6 NIV)

I made an interesting observation as we recently attended an 8 week Discipleship Training in Switzerland. Our leaders’ 7 year old son David was outside and surrounded by a group of his best friends. To my surprise he was sitting on the driver’s seat of his father’s car, an elegant dark blue English car that had been donated to the ministry. What surprised me even more was that David was holding his father’s cell phone in his hands which had been loaded with a children’s computer game for him to play with.

And so David was so tickled as he was sitting in his father’s car in the driver’s seat and proudly showing all of his friends what kind of exciting game he had on his father’s cell phone. I think the father himself was not watching his son. He was somewhere in the house talking to some people and must have been totally confident about letting his son have so much freedom.

As I observed this scene with wide open eyes I had to chuckle a little, since this scenario of giving your child a wide space and granting your child this kind of precious trust and love was not something I had experienced a lot in my own child hood. I couldn’t help but think that this is exactly the type of freedom that the Father in Heaven wants to give you as His sons and daughters. You know He loves you so much that He even gave His only Son so that you would have a meaningful life, a life that would overflow with grace, freedom and peace.

You not only have a generous Father that blesses you as His Child, but also a Father that has a big heart for you. He wants you to enjoy the things He has given you and His trust in you will relax you and you will start to enjoy the wide space that surrounds you all the time as a chosen child of the Most High.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

“Now Is The Appointed Time”

“Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5, 15-16).

For quite some time now the LORD has been speaking to me about seasons. A good illustration you can always find is in the nature where you discover so many principles about God and how He intends for us to live.

For example look at the cycle of a flower. Spring is here and everything starts to grow. A little something grows out of the ground. It grows more and more until you can recognize what it is. It grows a little bit more and a bud springs forth. Then the bud tears open and spreads its whole glory before you. This is the peak season of the flower and it lasts only for a moment or for a short while for you to enjoy. There comes a time however, when its season is over and it dies. You see this cycle everywhere you look.

This principle is also valid for the human life, and I just felt an urgency from the LORD that we need to be aware of the cycle of life in our own life. You know you are very much like this little something. At some point in time you came into this world and you began grow. And so during your whole life you have been given the opportunity to display a glory from God as you walk with Him. Each day and each moment is such a great opportunity to make the most of it, because it is a given fact, you have only one life to live. Sometime in the future your season will be over and you will go home to be with the LORD. But as for now, as you dedicate yourself unto Him, you will look back and you will even look ahead and rejoice because your life has become so rich and meaningful.

I pray that the LORD would teach you to number your days and wisdom would fill your
heart. This is how you will leave a legacy behind in the lives of others.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

“Full Exposure”

“And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD" (1 Samuel 2:21).

For quite some time I have been very interested in planting. With the help and insight of God I got to plant a lot of seeds, and then I waited and watched for them to grow. It’s a fascinating project I tell you! I learned that I needed a spacious container and good soil for my seeds. Then I would water them day by day and expose them to some light. And indeed, the seeds died and were born again and rose after a while into something green that pushed through the soil and started to grow. After a couple of weeks however, I noticed that my plants were not growing very well. I needed some help and I found it in my husband. He took the pots and put them right on the window seal for them to be exposed to more sun. From the rising to the setting of the sun my plants were now exposed to so much light that after the first one or two days I already recognized a significant growth. I realized that the pot, the soil and the watering were a good thing, but the full exposure to the sun was the ultimate requirement for my plants to grow properly into their destiny.

And this is exactly what you need as well! The word of God is essential and is a seed that is planted in your heart. That’s a good thing, and it will grow in you, but what causes the greatest growth for you is when you walk in the presence of the LORD. This is how Samuel became a mighty man of God and his destiny as a prophet and a judge for the nation of Israel was born. I encourage you today to make it a point in your daily walk with Jesus to expose yourself fully before Him. As you open your heart to Him and develop this sweet communion with Him, you will grow up to become a mighty testimony of God’s purpose for mankind.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

"Use Your Authority!”

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

There are two ways we normally respond to the enemy’s schemes: attack or defense. One is correct and the other one is wrong and so the LORD showed me a powerful principle in dealing with the evil attacks of satan which I would like to share with you here.

Recently my husband and I went to have a look at a house. As we approached it we saw that there was a fence around the house and a gate. We opened the gate and left if open as we were going to return to our car soon. And so as we were walking toward the house suddenly out of nowhere and totally unexpected a black old dog came running along the fence and started to bark at us. My heart pounded heavily in fear as I realized that we had left the gate open and so my imagination went wild. He so much reminded me of a dangerous black gepard.

And sure enough he walked through the gate and followed us around the house. I said to my husband “He is following us. What shall we do?” My husband was of course ahead of me and already had a plan! He grabbed a wooden log with two screws attached to it, lifted it up high and demonstrated to the dog that he was in charge. With a loud voice he rebuked the dog. I felt an instant shift of power, relief and complete safety. I so admired my husband for doing this. He said “Don’t worry honey. It’s going to be alright. If he attacks us I am going to hit him with this log”.

It was such a strong experience I made that day, as I saw that by declaring out loud and using a weapon the threat immediately evaporated. It was quite amazing, that although the dog was still there, he was no threat to me anymore because my husband was ready to fight as he showed boldness and determination.

You need to remember the truth! Satan lost the battle over 2000 years ago as Jesus conquered him on the Cross of Calvary. He took all the keys from him and stripped him of all his power. Like with this dog that barked so loud, all satan now is allowed to do is roar. So do not retreat in defense but take a stand for Jesus and be determined to attack. Exercise your authority as a child of God by lifting up your sword that is Word of God. Declare that you are in charge and that you are ready to punish any disobedience. By doing this you will expose his true character and no longer fall for his ridiculous performance. So go now and live in the victory and freedom the LORD intended for you.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner