“Soak in my Presence”

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him” (Psalm 62:1 NIV)

When I came to America a few years ago, I was confronted with a lot of change. One of the things I noticed was that our shower curtain would have mold and mildew after a couple of weeks. That was a new thing for me and so I asked my husband how to get rid of it. He said, “Wash it in the washing machine.” I thought that was a great idea, but unfortunately I chose the wrong washing program. The curtain was torn up, we had to throw it away and buy a new one. I asked my husband again how to get rid of the mold and he said “Use bleach.” So every month when the curtain really looked bad, I would take it down and scrub it outside on our back porch for about an hour. To be honest with you, I didn’t like this procedure very much.

So another month approached and I knew I would have to get rid of the mold again. This time I thought I will check the internet and see what a larger group of Americans say about this problem. I searched for “How to get rid of mold on your shower curtain,” and I got a fantastic answer: “Soak the curtain in the bath tub with water and a cup of bleach and then let it rest for one hour”. Ha, I liked that idea, because it didn’t require much work from my side. After an hour I was prepared to scrub the curtain but surprisingly found out that all the mold and mildew had miraculously disappeared during that hour. “Could that be true” I asked myself? Because now getting rid of the mold once a month would definitely be a joyful and easy thing for me to do!!!

Did you know that His presence is a resting place for you? When you rest in Him all the cares and struggles, worries, concerns and fearful thoughts are washed away by His love. It doesn’t really require much of you. Just chose to rest in His presence, let go of your cares, open your heart to Him and then listen to what He wants to share with you. As you make it your daily need to soak in His presence, I promise you that you will experience the truth that comes from knowing that only Jesus can wash away your cares.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!



Suzanne Tanner

"He Watches Over Your Life"

“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

Jumping to Conclusions

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5 NIV).

Do you also jump to conclusions easily and then find out that your conclusions were wrong? Oh let me tell you how the LORD recently corrected me on one of my conclusions. Fortunately it was only between Him and me, and He didn’t expose my thoughts. But I am going to share them with you today because I learned a very good lesson!

In that particular week I wasn’t able to attend our local Farmers Market, so we sent our friend and ministry partner to represent me and to sell our home made Swiss bread. When I came back from our trip that evening I counted the remaining loaves and discovered that one had been opened. I thought that this was a little odd, but figured our friend had been hungry that afternoon and wanted to eat some of the freshly baked bread. The more I thought about it, the more I got irritated because I reasoned that he could have sold that loaf or at least asked me if he could have a bite or two. I admit that those were my thoughts and my conclusions.

Then, full of excitement, our friend began to share with me his side of the story. He hadn’t sold a lot of bread that afternoon and so he prayed to God. He took action and opened up a loaf, went to each and every vendor at the Farmers Market and offered them a sample so that they could taste the great bread. By doing this he sold three more loaves of bread. Oh no, I couldn’t believe what I just heard! My conclusions were totally wrong and I was ashamed at myself for having had such thoughts. I definitely learned my lesson that day!

The Bible warns us in verse 5 of 1 Corinthians chapter 4 that we should not judge before the appointed time and that the LORD will bring light to everything that is hidden. The lesson I learned that day was that jumping to conclusions and acting as if I knew it all was totally wrong. I firmly believe now that we absolutely need to give room to the LORD to bring light and exposure into the motives of the hearts of man. On our part we need to wait for the arrival of the appointed time. Do you agree? Then let’s wait, see and jump when the LORD says so!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

God's Great Eraser

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2 NIV).

I have to share with you a little secret about myself: I don’t like to make mistakes. It’s better now that I am a believer, but on and off I still struggle with forgiveness.

Today the LORD showed me a powerful truth: I was recording some of my devotionals at the local radio studio. My Christian friend, helper and sound technician at the studio does the mixing and the optimization of the recording. He has all the great tools, software and hardware to make me look really good.

So today as also in recent recordings I made some mistakes while I was speaking into the microphone. I either spoke the wrong words, paused too long, or my tongue just didn’t properly form the word I wanted to say. But do you know what? I can make as many mistakes as I like! Ken will always be able to fix them! He is so patient with me and all he wants to do is to make me sound really good all the time! He just goes back in the recording, erases or corrects a word, or just wipes out a pause that was too long.

Very much like Ken wipes out all of my recording mistakes, you have a godly eraser! It’s Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that shed His blood and took away the sins of the world. Today He wants to reassure you that He will always forgive you for any past, present and future sin. Bring to Him your failures and experience the freedom and relief that comes from knowing that your transgressions have been truly erased by Him. This is the starting point where you can rise up once again and be restored to everlasting joy.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

“Follow the Promptings of the Holy Spirit”

“Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26 NIV).

Let me tell you, when you act upon the promptings of the Holy Spirit, that’s when the impossible things start to happen! That’s exactly what I experienced with a daisy I received from a friend. There were these three daisies that were planted in a pot and normally I would have just put it somewhere in the house to beautify a room. And usually flowers that have been planted into a pot will eventually die after not so long. But something different happened with this flower. This time I had this impossible thought that I could transplant it into my garden. I tell you, this was a very unusual thought for me, since like I said I would normally leave these flowers in the pot and display them in the house.

Well after a few weeks or so this plant did in fact die outside in the garden. I figured that my thought was too bold and that I had made a mistake and that they were destined to be a house plant and bloom only once. But you know what? One day I was totally surprised to see that this plant now started to birth three new daisy flowers. They rose again out of the dust, they bloomed for a while and then they died. And for the third time they rose again and now this plant has birthed a fourth daisy. It is just amazing. It all started out with a simple thought and then I followed that prompting. And do you now see what has happened? Life after life is springing forth and multiplication is taking place. This plant is indeed unstoppable.

Today the LORD wants to reassure you that He is the God of possibilities, opportunities, hope and everlasting life. He wants to release such a richness of ideas, creativity, insight and revelation to the ones that seek His face. All you need to do is to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and then act upon what you hear. Do not doubt the thoughts that seem impossible, but trust the distinct voice of the LORD that says “It is possible”. I tell you, you will become such a channel of inspiration and break the yoke of impossibilities over your life and of the many people that you come across.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

I Am Your Helper!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1 NIV).

I am going to tell you a story that I am sure you can relate to: Being a helper to my husband I find myself often doing the following: My husband would say to me “Honey, I am looking for my sunglasses. Have you seen them? Can you help me find them?”

We had the exact same situation yesterday. My husband had misplaced his sunglasses and just couldn’t find them. I have to be honest with you, I don’t like looking for things, I don’t find any pleasure in it, and besides that, I just find it a waste of time. Anyway, to save time I prayed in my heart and said to the Lord “Lord please show me where the sunglasses are – please!” I got a very quick impression of a guitar case. I followed that impression right away, went to the car, opened up the guitar case and to my great great joy I saw the sunglasses. I said to my husband “Isn’t the LORD just so good? Now this is a miracle right there, isn’t it!”

Isn’t He just a great God that helps us in times of need! Perhaps you are also somebody that often is looking for their sunglasses or house keys like my husband. Perhaps you need some help with writing a letter or finding a job. Whatever it is, rest assured that the LORD wants to be your helper. Although He is the great I AM, the Maker of heaven and earth, there is no situation or aspect that is too unimportant or too insignificant to Him. All that He wants is to be involved in your life. So, do you want to see more miracles in your life? Then give him your hand and allow Him to help you. You will be amazed to see “how much God” is in your life!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

"I Am The Transformer"

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).

I have never seen such an intense transformation taking place in the fall season like it does here in Iowa, Northern America. This is just such an amazing play of colors and I really stand in awe as I marvel at God the great Creator. These colors are so intense and shine so brightly that I sometimes think I need to put on my sunglasses!

What amazes me the most is that when the leaves lose their color they don't just get brown, die and fall to the ground. No, before they die they actually transform from the ordinary green into an excellent bright red, radiant orange or intense yellow. This season has become my absolute favorite one.

The LORD spoke to me about these leaves and said that He wants His children to display this same kind of glory that is excellent, radiant and intense. It comes from the inside out and this glory is God in you! Believe that this word is true and you will see an extraordinary transformation of your own personality taking place. This is when people cannot any longer deny that there is a God that is alive.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner