"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8 NIV).
Isn’t that just true that animals have a natural fear of man! I mean you just know it if you approach for example a bird that it will tremble and fly away from you. But you know what; in my hometown our wild animals are surprisingly friendly.
I recently went for a walk in the park and met with the squirrels. I observed a couple that was running around and chasing each other. It was funny to watch them playing and enjoying their fellowship. And then they suddenly realized that I was there too and so they approached me with much curiosity. They came so close to me I could have touched them. And so I decided to sit down on a bench for a while and see what they would do. And sure enough one of them even jumped up and came so close to me. It brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart that this wild animal would want to be close to me and give me a chance to observe it so closely. That’s strange, I thought, these animals have practically lost their fear of man, because they had been fed all these years. So each time they see man they remember what they had done for them and little by little they gain confidence.
This is such a good picture of our relationship with the Heavenly Father! He desires so much for us to approach Him with this love and interest for Him. He wants us to get close to Him and for us to long for Him. Through the fall of man we have learned to hide from God, but this was not the original plan. No we were created for an awesome and unique communion with the Almighty One. And so Jesus Christ laid down His life for you, paved the way and gave you access to the Father.
I encourage you to daily take this opportunity to approach your heavenly Father. See and experience the Fathers delight and pride in you. Then you will understand His longing for you and you will find peace for your soul.
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27 NIV).
I am not a person who knows much about art, but let me tell you what I experienced recently. I went into a local art gallery to talk to the owner about something. As I was waiting with a friend of mine to speak to him, we walked around the gallery and had a look at all of the pictures that the owners wife had been painting. I was so impressed to see how versatile she was. Not one picture was the same. One of the pictures really caught both of our eyes and attention. Below this particular picture was another one which was the exact replica of the one hanging above it, just a little bit smaller. I observed and compared both pictures carefully and I thought, “Why does she paint two identical pictures?” I was puzzled until my friend revealed to me that the larger picture was the original and the smaller one was a lithography, a truly excellent copy of the original. I was totally amazed; I could hardly believe it was true because for me they looked just the same: in color, canvas, frame, just in everything.
That morning I couldn’t help but think about Jesus, our Original. When people see you and me, do they right away think about Jesus? Can you imagine that your actions and your nature would just automatically speak about Jesus and point to Him? God’s heart yearns for the children of God to be revealed in such a way! I tell you, reflect His image to the world and you will start winning people for Jesus! It’s as simple as that and it is how you are going to bring in the harvest in the most powerful and authentic way!
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
“Be self- controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV).
The winter in Iowa was extremely rough. Although I grew up in Switzerland, the weather here in the Midwest caught me by surprise and I had to get used to the extreme weather conditions. One day I thought I could leave my house and walk down the road without a cap on my head. Within 5 minutes my ears were nearly frozen stiff. Also in my home I often had to protect myself by wearing warm clothes, woolen socks, and blankets. For months it seemed I had gone through much adaptation and change. And then one day in March I stepped outside well armed with a warm coat, gloves and a shawl and what happened? At once there was such a pleasant temperature in the air and I didn’t need this protection anymore. I was suspicious at first because I had been so alert all the time. But it was true, I didn’t need this protection anymore, and I tell you, that was such an awesome relief.
It is a fact that as believers we stand in a warzone. We need to wear our spiritual armor all the time and fight each day battle after battle. We resist and overcome our enemy by the blood of the Lamb. We get used to this lifestyle of a warrior very much like I did with the weather conditions. But there is this place in His presence where you can come freely and let go of your weapons and leave your armor behind. This is a realm where you can fellowship with the LORD Jesus Christ in absolute freedom and security. I pray for you, you mighty warrior of the LORD in shining armor. May you be always drawn to come back to that place of rest after a battle and spend time with your wonderful King.
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26 NIV).
I have to tell you quite an amazing story which will make you believe that with God all things are possible.
Back when I was living in Switzerland I bought a pricy Swiss watch which I just treasured. After a few years however, to my great disappointment it stopped working. The jewelers in Switzerland told me that I had to send the watch to the original manufacturer and they quoted a repair cost of $ 400.00. Because of this unexpected expense my husband and I had to decide against the repair.
And so I put my watch in the drawer and there it remained for about 1 1/2 years. I had lost hope that this watch would ever be working again. Then shortly before Christmas of 2009 my husband told me that he had an incredible gift for me. “I would never guess what it would be” he said. “It was too great, too amazing and too wonderful for me to imagine” he added. I stopped trying to figure out what it could be. Then Christmas morning arrived and I opened my present. There was my most beautiful Swiss watch brought back to life! I held it in my hands and had no words on my lips but just cried and cried. My husband knew how I missed my watch and he made a way to bring it back to life. Our local jewelers here in Iowa made it possible and charged my husband in the end only for a new battery and not for the repair.
This story reminded me so much of God’s love and that with Him all things are possible. He will open the heavens for you and He will shower you with all of His goodness. I encourage you today to put your trust in Him and to know in your heart that He means it so well with you.
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised”(Hebrews 10: 35 -36 NIV).
I was doing some hard working in the yard that day. My job was to rake all the old leaves from the lawn, from the flowerbeds and from underneath all the bushes that I hadn’t collected last fall! I prayed that I would be able to do this work with a good attitude and that the LORD would give me some sort of meaning to all of this. And of course He did!
And so as I was scraping all the old leaves from the top of the flowerbed I saw something so beautiful. There from underneath I saw a little green something that was springing forth out of the ground! Ah yes, of course, the wintertime was over. And so this little surprise made all my hard work worthwhile because now I understood why I had to rake. I had to make a way for the flowers to come out. It finally all made sense to me.
Perhaps you are in a situation which doesn’t make much sense to you. Perhaps you’ve worked hard and lost all of your joy. You know what? The LORD knows about your situation and His desire for you is that you can walk in joy and hope all the time even in tough times. The truth is that He will always reward your perseverance. So just stay close to Him, press through and don’t forget to share your thoughts with Him. Just hold onto Him and sure enough you will receive your reward.
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
One morning I was thinking about a particular plant, a basil plant that my husband and I had planted a while back. We were staying at a hotel at that time, and one of the amenities that the hotel offered was that we could plant a seed in a small container. So on this particular morning it was as if I was taken back in time to when we planted this seed. Now as I looked at the basil I was just so thankful to see such a wonderful growth. Over the last few months I had watched it. I remembered wondering when we planted the seed, if it would make it at all. It did! It grew steadily. Day by day it slowly pushed its way through the soil. At first the leaves didn’t look like basil at all, but now sure enough it does! It smells like basil and it looks like basil. Every morning I had gone out to our green room to inspect its growth. I would water it, take care of it, place it in the sun and make sure that it would grow under the best possible conditions. You know, very much like a proud parent.
Anyway, whilst I was pondering about this basil and my heart was filled with such gladness, the LORD spoke to me about His children. “Even before time was”, He said, “I was thinking of you”. “When you were in your mother’s womb, I was the One that formed you. I watched over your coming into this world and I am the One that is concerned about your life, your growth and your well-being. I am the One that takes good care of you and I will lead you through your life so that the plans I have spoken over you will surely come to pass.” So rest now in this safe assurance today that your wonderful heavenly Father, the awesome Great I AM, definitely holds your precious life in His hands. Hallelujah!
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”(John 15:5).
It was such a nice and warm day and so I decided to take a walk to the nearby park. I had missed my walks a lot and because our winter was so cold, I had to wait for the spring to come. I was so glad to be back and to see the squirrels and the geese again and to enjoy the nature. Whilst I was walking on my routine path I observed the beautiful trees. I stopped at a very remarkable tree and made an interesting observation. Next to this huge and strong tree I saw a shoot that was growing alongside. I noticed that it was not growing independently, no it was somehow drawn to this tree and clung onto it and it was impossible for me to break it loose. I thought if this shoot had grown all on its own I could have pulled it out of the ground easily and I also would have been able to bend its small branches. But this shoot had grown so close to this tree and had become so strong by clinging to it that it actually became one with it.
And then the LORD explained to me that apart from Him we are weak, but when we cling to him, we become extremely strong. We grow close to Him and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can separate us from Him. He is our refuge, our protector and strong tower. So whatever you are facing in your life know that by clinging onto the LORD you will grow close to Him. You will become one with Him and you will discover that your true strength lies in Him alone.
Have a wonderfully blessed day!
Suzanne Tanner
