Category: <span>thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid</span>


I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.”  Psalm 130: 5


We spend much of our time waiting for prayers to be answered.  Waiting for healing.  Waiting for our children to come home. Waiting for a job opportunity. Waiting for the house to sell. Why so much waiting? Time is a protection for us. We couldn’t bear to see all our lives at once.

Waiting on God is not the same as doing nothing. The truth is, waiting requires tremendous faith and focus.

How can we make a time of waiting more tolerable, even fruitful?

1. Realize God’s leading is uniquely yours. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He always has the best in mind.  “Look to Me,” I hear Jesus saying, “what I am doing with your life is my love-gift to you.

2. Remember what God has done for you in the past. Reading through an old journal always leaves me incredibly grateful. Problems that seemed insurmountable have been overcome. Dreams have come true. Prayers have been answered. As I read about God’s faithfulness in the past, there’s a growing certainty that God is working just as diligently in the present.

3. Think of your life as one day and focus on present blessings. “Each day is a little life; each morning is a new beginning,” writes Arthur Schopenhauer.  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own,” Jesus said in Matthew 6:34.

4. Change what you can and leave the rest to God. Nothing wards off that helpless I’m-a-victim feeling as quickly as doing something productive like working in the garden, knitting a toque, having someone over for a meal…

5. Stand firm on the God of hope. Although we may be uncertain as to what God is doing, we can be certain of His character. He’s always acting in love towards us. “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).

Why must we wait? God wants to grow fruit in our lives which takes time to ripen, like patience and perseverance. He wants to show us more of Himself; He wants to grow our relationship with Him.

Father, thank you that you are present in my waiting. Help me to trust that Your timing is best.

By Helen Lescheid
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FURTHER READING

Wait for the Lord – by Katherine Kehler

• Silence is Golden – by Karen Huffaker

When Silence is More Than Being Quiet – by Kyle Norman

thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8


How do we know that God is good when our lives feel bad?

We’ve been conditioned to think of God  as a doting parent whose function is to shield us from unpleasant circumstances. We have learned to equate the goodness of God with the rightness of our circumstances.

We are like the little girl who, when she got what she wanted, exclaimed, “God must really like me!” Or conversely, when things were not going her way, she pouted, “Why is God punishing me like this?”

King David did not make this mistake. He knew that God’s goodness is based on His character traits of mercy and love which never change. David knew about adversities. Maligned by friends and family, hunted by King Saul, hiding in caves and fearing for his life, David poured out his anguish to God. Then he made an astonishing declaration:

Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old…according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD” (Psalm 25:6-8).

Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God’s goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God’s goodness, rooted in his character, is always the same. Knowing this, David could sing of the goodness of God, whether he was peacefully tending his sheep or fearfully running from his enemies.

All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful,” he writes (Psalm 25:10).

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).

God’s goodness is the same on bad days as it is on good days.

People who attest to God’s goodness in their lives do not experience an absence of trouble but rather have a keen awareness of God’s presence in every situation.

Father, I thank you that You are always good and what You do is good also.

By Helen Lescheid
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FURTHER READING

Keep Yourselves in God’s Love

How to Experience God’s Love

Sacred Romance


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


“Again Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?”  He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheepJohn 21:16


Pain brings us back to the basics of our faith. “Do you love Me?”

It’s a question Jesus asked Peter, his beaten, confused disciple.

In view of what had happened in the past week of crucifixion, Jesus might have asked Peter, “Do you understand what has happened?” This is the approach he used with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. As he walked with them he explained to them “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

But not with Peter.  He cut through this disciple’s hurt and confusion and shame with one basic question, “Do you love me?”

Likewise in my confusion and pain, God did not give me an explanation. Like he did with Peter, He brought me back to this basic of the Christian faith: Do you love me? Even though prayers go unanswered. Your dreams lie buried. The wrong seems to triumph. Do you love me?”

Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Our Loving God does not erase painful human emotions. Despite the turmoil, love grabs the steering wheel of our wills and pulls us towards God. We may journey through chilling mists of discouragement, doubt, and self-pity for a while, but our direction is clear.

Faith is not a grin-and-bear-it approach, but rather a quiet but firm determination: we will believe God is good no matter what circumstances look like. We will keep holding onto loving and obeying God.

Are you ready to say with me: “Father, you know that I love you.”

By Helen Lescheid
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Further Reading

  Keep Yourself in God’s Love –  by Katherine Kehler

•  God Loves You –  by Gail Rodgers

When God Seems Small – by Bethany Hayes


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.Romans 15:13

Have you ever been disappointed with God? You trusted him to bless you with a job or to answer a fervent prayer for a loved one and nothing happened. It’s as though God doesn’t care.

I think we all have. Let me tell you about one of my experiences. We prayed much for my husband’s healing and claimed scripture that he would be healed. But despite our earnest prayers, fasting, and spiritual warfare, he did not get better. He got worse. Today he’s in a Care Home. This was a severe test of my faith. I had a choice to make: would I give up on God and prayer or would I go deeper? If I let go of God I’d lose all hope. I would sink into despair. I’d become a bitter old woman. I didn’t want that. So I decided to keep trusting God even though I didn’t understand.

I parceled up all my expectations, my disappointments, and my failures and handed them to God. Here, Lord, I give this burden to You now. I don’t understand what is happening. I don’t like what is happening, but I want to trust You with it. I want to trust  that You are in this and somehow You will bring something good out of it.

I prayed this prayer again and again and God did meet my need for courage and hope from day to day. Now looking back I can see much good has come out of this experience. We have grown in our knowledge of God’s faithfulness and love and we’ve discovered that God is enough even when life doesn’t make sense.

Father, I thank you that you’re always acting in love towards us even when we don’t understand what you are doing.

By Helen Lescheid
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Further Reading

• Breaking the Power of Disappointment – by Francis Frangipane

Rejoice in Hope by Roy Lessin

The Promise of Hope – by Sylvia Gunter


Thoughts by All thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Psalm 118:24

How do you feel about this day? Are you dreading it or are you looking forward to it like the psalmist is?

God has pleasant surprises tucked into this day for us but so many of us miss them because we run right past them.

Helen Keller, who was blind, deaf and mute, asked a friend who’d just come in from a walk through the park, “What did you see?

Nothing much,” she answered.

How can that be? Helen wondered. How can you spend an hour in the park and not see anything?

When she asked some of her friends to describe the faces of five people they were especially close to–what’s the color of their eyes, for instance– they couldn’t do it.

How glorious it would be if I could see for just three days,” Helen wrote. She would feast her eyes on the beauties of nature; she would stand at a busy street corner and watch the kaleidoscope of color as crowds of people hurried past; she would look long into the faces of people whose kindness had made her life worth living. Helen Keller did not get her wish. But you and I have eyes to see and ears to hear. Are we making full use of them?

Today, I want to seize the moment and glory in all the blessings that God has scattered into this day: the interesting shapes of clouds in the sky, always changing; the varied shapes and colors of leaves; the slanting sun making patterns on my living room wall. Each one speaks of  God’s presence and love.

Thank you, Father, that all the days of my life were written in your book before ever they took shape. You have a good plan and I can face this day with confidence (Psalm 139:16)

By Helen Lescheid
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Further Reading

• All the Days of My Lifeby Donna Mitchell

Your Days Are Written in God’s Book – by Sylvia Gunter

You Are God’s Great Idea – by Jon Walker


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” Deuteronomy 31:8

Let me be very honest with you: I don’t always feel God’s presence. Sometimes He seems a million miles away. Sometimes He doesn’t even seem real. Can you relate? What do you do during times like that?

I know that feelings are not reliable. They change according to the weather or what’s happening in my life. God’s word does not change. No matter what our circumstances, God is present. He has said, “I will never leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) He is the same compassionate God on good days as He is on bad days.

So, what am I going to stand on – facts or feelings? I must choose, then act accordingly. Let me share with you two exercises that help me lift my mood from despair to hope.

1. Singing God’s truths. One of my morning routines is to spend twenty minutes on the treadmill. About eight in the morning, I grab a hymn book and head for the exercise room. While I’m on the treadmill I sing God’s praises.

2. Repeating God’s truths. I write out a Bible verse so I can read it again during the day. Sometimes I say it out loud and then I add, “This is the truth and I stand on it.”

Some of the verses I use are:

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22,23).

As I affirm God’s truths, my feelings catch on to the message and move over from despair to hope.

Jesus, I thank you that you have said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18) Knowing that you are with me now, I will move ahead with confidence. Amen.

Questions: Have you been struggling with despair? Are you relying on feelings instead of fact? How can you affirm God’s truth in your life today?

By Helen Lescheid
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FURTHER READING

Contentment and a Broken Ankle
Peace or Panic?
The Gentle Christian  How do I embrace a gentle spirit when I have been hurt and/or deceived?
Beauty out of Brokenness


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasureEphesians 1:4 & 5 (Life Application Study Bible).


Why am I here? What is my purpose?

Self-help books suggest you’ll find yourself when you go after your innate desires and dreams. But from experience I know this isn’t enough. The starting place must be our Creator and His eternal purposes for each life.

I was born of German parents in Ukraine which was then part of Russia. During World War II my mother with four small children fled from our country always just ahead of the Russian front. We lived in refugee camps across Europe. As displaced persons we knew that we were not as valued as children born in the country. We were second rate.

Later, when we immigrated to Canada, I became an immigrant girl who never fit in with her teen crowd. I didn’t speak English. I couldn’t relate to the culture. I was hopeless at sports. I was a misfit.

As I listened to the voices of the world and the voice within my own head, I knew I didn’t have what it takes to be a valued person. I carried this negative mind-set well into adulthood.

When I first heard that Jesus loved me enough to die for me (not just for the whole wide world, but for me!), I could hardly believe it. But there was more: He wanted to adopt me into His family. This would happen through Jesus Christ. If I would receive Him as my Savior and Lord, I would become a child of God. He would take me just as I am. One day, I asked Him to come into my life. And He did!

Slowly it began to dawn on me that because Jesus lives within me, I have a place. I have a destiny. I have an inheritance that is eternal. I felt like celebrating my new identity. After careful thought, I gave myself the name Grace. Every time I write my name Helen Grace Lescheid, I’m celebrating the fact that I belong to the best family in the world–God’s family. And all because of God’s grace.

Where are you in this faith journey?   Has life dealt you some cruel blows? Do you feel excluded from the in-crowd? These hurtful things don’t have to define you. Stop listening to the world and to the negative voice within you. Start listening to what God says about you. The real truth about you is found in Ephesians 1:3-14. Put your name where it says “we” or “us”. Say the verses out loud to yourself, adding, “this is who I really am.”

Father, may all who read these words today experience the power of the risen Christ within and walk with dignity, confidence, and joy.

by Helen Grace Lescheid
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Further Reading

•  My Life Has Purpose – by Helen Lescheid

•  God’s Purpose – by Phil Ware

•  Set Your Compass in the Right Direction –  by Max Lucado


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


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


The power of persistence accomplishes great things.

I witnessed this in my fourteen-year-old granddaughter Miriam.

For Christmas she had been given a jigsaw puzzle. It had come to her home in Africa in a plastic bag without the box and without a picture. As she dumped 1,000 pieces onto a card table, I wondered how long she was going to keep at it. No picture to copy. No pattern to follow. Just a pile of pieces looking surprisingly similar.

As I watched my granddaughter bent over the pieces, sorting, grouping, and turning each piece over for a possible fit, I marveled at her persistence. And her faith. She believed that this jumble would make sense in the end; a picture would emerge. And buoyed by that knowledge, she kept at it day after day. Because Miriam persisted, she was rewarded with a beautiful Victorian Painting.

Is your life like a jumbled jigsaw puzzle? You’ve been told that God has a wonderful plan for your life, but right now, all you see is broken pieces—broken dreams, broken health, broken relationships. A pattern? No, it looks more like a mess.

Perhaps you’re tired and discouraged. Come to God in your weakness and tell Him, “I depend on you to see me through this.” God is with you to be your strength. He knows the pattern and will guide you to it. However, you must also do your part.

You need to persevere in faith and in obedience to God’s Word. Keep depending on Him to give you daily strength. He has a good plan for your life and one day you will see what He was doing.

Successful people are people who have known their share of brokenness but they’ve refused to give up. They’ve not thrown away their confidence but have kept on believing that, in time, their faith in God’s goodness will be rewarded.

Father, even though I don’t understand, I trust you to give me daily strength to keep on believing until I finish.

by Helen Grace Lescheid
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Further Reading

•  Take Goliath Down –  by Max Lucado

•   Perseverance – by John Grant

 Maturity Hurts – by Donna Mitchell


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


How do you handle failure?

Do you beat yourself up with “I should have!” or do you try to hide it?

Some people’s pride prevents them from acknowledging failure. Take Peter, for instance.

On that last supper Jesus had with His disciples he told them that they would all forsake him. “Not me!” Peter exclaimed boldly, “I am ready to die for you.

Yes, you also will deny me,” Jesus responded. “But when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothersLuke 22:32 (LT)

Jesus confronted Peter with  his weakness but not in a condemning way. “You will fail me like the rest, Peter, but remember that’s not the end of our relationship.” Then he showed Peter the way back from failure: own up to it, repent of it, and come back to Me.”

That is good news for us too.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)

Not only does He cleanse us, but He redeems our failures. We learn dependency upon God and realize “it’s not me but Christ in me” that makes me strong. Because of his failure, Peter became a humble servant of God who could strengthen other weak believers.

Ruth Bell Graham writes,

“When thoughts of failures push their way into my consciousness, I let His total forgiveness dissolve my regrets and go on to praise Him who accepts us just as we are and lovingly works to make us more than we were.  God doesn’t expect us to be finished products now. We are works in progress.”

We can leave our failures with God. He does not condemn us. He will use them for good

Father, thank you that there is hope after failure. You forgive me and use my failures for good.

By Helen Lescheid
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Further Reading

•   God Uses Failure – by Max Lucado

•  Overcoming Failure – by Charles Stanley

•   Learning To Fail and Succeed in God – by Daniel Forster


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with argumentsJob 23: 3, 4


Everything had gone wrong in Job’s life. He had lost his children, his possessions, his business and his reputation as a righteous man. Throughout all of this, God was silent.

If only God would tell me why, it would be easier to take.” Have you ever said that?

But is this what we need most? Would an explanation really help us with our pain?

From experience I know that we don’t need answers as much as a comforting presence.

We need the assurance that we’re not alone. We need hope that we’ll get through this and good will come out of it eventually.

This became very real to me when I thought I had lost everything I valued in life. “But you haven’t lost Me,” I heard God saying.

Then I have what I need to get through this,” I thought.

Many times God does not give us answers. He gives us Himself– for He Himself is the answer.

Job discovered this. “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you,” he exclaimed. “…and I repent in dust and ashes.” When he saw the greatness of God, he wondered, why did I ever doubt?

Dear Father, I want to trust you even when I don’t understand. I believe that you are lovingly and thoughtfully putting together this life-package for me. I want to know you in a deeper way.

by Helen Grace Lescheid
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Further Reading

•   The Suffering of His Broken Heart – by Max Lucado

•   Trusting God in Suffering – by Karen Woodard

•   God Uses Our Suffering – by Charles Stanley


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


What do you do when bad news threatens to overwhelm you?


The spring my friend Yvonne heard that she had terminal cancer she was devastated.  “I won’t plant any flowers then,” she said. “I mean, what’s the point, I won’t see them bloom anyway.”

But sitting around and moping didn’t feel right either. One day she said to herself, “I was born with a death sentence—all of us are. But I’m not going to sit here and wait for it to happen. I want to live each day to the full. I will continue to grow flowers. If I don’t see them bloom, my neighbors will.”

And for seven more years, Yvonne’s yard looked like a flower garden. There were roses of exquisite colors, hanging baskets of petunias, beds of geraniums and impatiens.

What really helps my peace of mind is to cling to Bible verses that speak of God’s loving plan for our lives,” she said. Verses such as:

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:16 LAB).

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD…” (Psalm 37:18).

“The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives.”
(Psalm 37:23 LAB)

God is writing the book of my life and He holds the hour-glass of time. I will not die one minute before he says so, and when I do, He will welcome me to my eternal Home.”

Yes! We serve a God of hope not despair.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13).

by Helen Grace Lescheid
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Further Reading

•  Hope for Those without Hope – by Mike Woodard

•  Hope for a Hopeless World – Devotional by Terry Stead

•   HOPE – A Devotional by Gail Rodgers

•  Hope in God–  by Darren Hewer

•  Your Hope in Him is Never in Vain – by Doug Lim


thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women

Expressing one’s true feelings is not a lack of faith.


In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”John 16:33

Pain, suffering and hardships are normal ingredients of life. What we mix them with—fear or faith– makes all the difference. Jesus did not come to make us escapists but over-comers. How?

1. Honestly express your feelings.

Job exclaimed, “Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me… My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of wailingJob 30:26-31.

King David wrote, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” Psalm 22:1.

Jesus said, “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?  No, it was for this very reason I came to this hourJohn 12:27.

Expressing one’s true feelings is not a lack of faith. It’s being real, and you must be willing to face reality before you can expect to overcome it. Like King David, who wrote many of the psalms, I find it therapeutic to write my feelings down in a journal. It makes the situation more real and valid. It also helps to talk to someone, but choose carefully whom you confide in.

2. Don’t suffer more than necessary by indulging in self-pity and bitterness. Some people get stuck in what if. If only. I should have. It isn’t necessarily our pain that causes us to suffer so acutely but our tendency to put ourselves down, to view pain or tragedy as punishment, failure, or proof of our inherent worthlessness.

I’ve seen people get stuck in a painful experience that happened sixty years ago. They talk about it as if it happened last week. People who won’t let go of the past are not able to enjoy the present.  They suffer more than God intended.

3. Don’t spend time and energy on asking why.  It’s not nearly as important to know the why in life, as it is to know the Who of life. Knowing God as a benevolent Sovereign who controls the events in my life gives me peace of mind. I can safely leave my why with Him and concentrate on the now what? Now that this thing has happened, what can I do to make it better? How can I help to bring some relief to those who are suffering? I can’t do anything about the why, but I can do something about the what. And that’s where I want to put my energies.

“Be still and know that I am God…The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”  Psalm 46:10, 11

By Helen Lescheid
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Further Reading

•  Life Can Bring Joy out of Sorrow by Norma Becker
•  Fully Surrender to the Lord
•  Salvation Explained


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women


Many people say,

Sure, I believe in God. I’ve gone to church most of my life.

But is this all there is to it? What does it mean to believe?

To believe means more than intellectual consent. It involves surrender. We must give ourselves to God before He can give Himself to us. We practice this kind of surrender every time we fly in an airplane. We board an aircraft, sit down in our seats and put the seat belt on. And for the next four hours or so we’re at the mercy of a pilot whom we don’t even know. We trust that he knows what he’s doing and he’ll get us to the right destination safely.

We do the same with a doctor. Before surgery we sign a consent form, right? We allow the anaesthetist to put us to sleep. Talk about complete surrender! Then the surgeon can help us and not before. The principle of complete surrender holds true in many situations in life. Complete surrender is needed before help can  come to us.

It’s no different with God. Before He can help us, we must give ourselves to him completely.

Being totally dependent upon God is one of the hardest things we Christians have to do in life.
We fear the helplessness of it. We want to be in control. Still, God cannot work unless we surrender to him. His way is always to work through weakness.

We have the mistaken idea that when we surrender completely we’ll become spineless and mindless persons. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, when we surrender we tap into God more fully. We become more alive, more realistic, more courageous, more truly ourselves than we’ve ever been before.

Dear God, forgive me for being so independent. I want to trust you more in every situation. I give  myself to you now in full surrender. In Jesus name, Amen.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”  Proverb 3:5-6

By Helen Lescheid
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Further Reading

•  Yielded Heart –  by Kathy Cheek

• Fully Surrender to the Lord – Christian Poem by Hope Tshuma

•  Salvation Explained


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“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).


Does life sometimes seem overwhelming?

You’ve received a troubling report from the doctor. One of your children is in crisis. You wonder how you will pay your bills. Then there’s a car accident. It seem like trouble comes in bunches.

The disciples found themselves in a raging storm on the sea of Galilee. As seasoned fishermen they had seen storms before but nothing like this. What made matters worse Jesus was not with them.

When he did come walking on the water they thought he was a ghost. They screamed in terror. But Jesus called across the waves,

It is I; be not afraid!” (“I AM is here; stop being frightened!” Amplified)

Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died down (Mark 6:45-52).

Did you notice that Jesus walked on the water? The very thing that was so frightening to them Jesus walked on. What does this tell us? The circumstance that seems so threatening to you now is under Jesus’ feet. He has control of all of it and will see you through. Let his peace fill you now.

I’ve been thinking about the word peace. In Greek “peace” has the connotation of being linked together. So when Jesus says to us,

Peace I leave with you,”

He’s saying,

You and I are in this together and I’m also pulling this load. We’re walking arm in arm through this difficult experience. You are not alone.”

Not only is Jesus walking with us and shouldering our load, but he is within us. And because He is within us, we have all the resources we need.

What difficult experience do you find yourself in right now? What are you dreading? Can you visualize Jesus in that situation?

Lord Jesus, thank you for sharing my burden and giving me all the resources I need to handle this. Amen.

by Helen Grace Lescheid
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•  Hope for the Hopeless

•  Prayer of Forgiveness and Release

•   A Poem of Hope


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thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…”  Isaiah 66:13


In our culture comfort is revered. We are made to feel that we’re entitled to the good life of health, success, and happiness especially if we’re Christians.

Advertisements bombard us that say: Just take the right product, join the right group, say the right prayer; believe strongly enough and the good life will open up to you.  Is it any wonder that this is the culture of ‘victim thinking’.

Jesus taught that pain and suffering are part of this life.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Having God on your side doesn’t mean having no storms in your life. It means having a boat no storm can sink. So true! When I experienced deep suffering that lasted for many years, I found great comfort in knowing that God was present and God was actively involved in choosing each adversity to be part of the life package He carefully and purposefully put together for me.

What is God doing in our suffering?

(1)       God wants to reveal Himself to us in a deeper way.  Suffering stretches our souls so that God can pour more of Himself into us. Suffering is the ‘dark room’ in which the picture of God is revealed.

(2)      God sees potential in us which He wants to set free. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,” writes James, “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-3).

(3)      Suffering gives us a ministry. Suffering provides an opportunity to show the world that Christ is real. God wants people to be surprised at us– surprised that we can keep on believing– given what has happened to us. Persons, despite their pain, keep trusting God prove to the world the reality of God.

Knowing that God engineers all of life –including the suffering–gives tremendous comfort. Suffering is then measured by Someone who loves me deeply. Suffering is given with purpose and design. It all fits into the good plan that God has chosen for me.

Jesus, thank you for your promise:

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8)

by Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•  Sweet Comfort – Devotional by Phil Ware

• Comfort in Times of Uncertainty – A Devotional by Idelette McVicker

God and Comfort – Devotional by John Grant


thoughts by Helen Grace Lescheid Thoughts by Women