Have Faith - Sauni Rinehart

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Faith—believing in what we can’t see, touch, or feel—can be tough for some people. They need to be able to grasp something that feels real to them.

It’s these same people who’ll get on an airplane that, by all that’s logical, shouldn’t be able to get off the ground. I’ve done a lot of traveling lately, spending hours sitting in a huge plane that has to weigh, well, tons. And all around me, people slept, read, talked and laughed . . . no one seemed to think twice about how the plane worked or how it could fly.

They have faith that it’ll get us safely to our destination.

Every morning, we have faith our cars will run, when we don’t know a carburetor from a piston. We have faith our spouses will be faithful, when we don’t have control over the decisions they make. We have faith our children will grow up to be contributing members of society, when they easily could be influenced by the world.

All this is faith. So why do we find it hard to have faith in God?

It’s not really a matter of faith at all. For many, it’s a matter of control—we don’t want to give it up. I know I struggle with this more often than I care to admit. My plans. My desires. My abilities. Things I want to do. I want control.

But, if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that I don’t have control over anything. Not really. But the God who loves me with an everlasting love, does.. And I can trust Him. He’s in loving control and has proven to be faithful—every moment of every day.

While I may not understand everything about Him, although I may not be able to touch His face or hold His hand, I can have faith He’ll work His perfect will in my life. Have faith. Let Him handle the situations of life.

Sauni Rinehart is a speaker, vocalist, and writer through Triple-E Ministries (www.saunirinehart.com) or visit her blog at http://saunirinehart.blogspot.com. She is also involved in worship arts and women's ministries at her home church. She and her husband make their home in Eastvale, California.

Read Sauni's devotions.

Master Plans - Sauni Rinehart

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

I have redecorating on the brain, and I have great plans to complete some projects. I plan to tile our master bathroom, build bookshelves for my home office, lay hardwood in our family room—well, at least I plan to have others do these things.

My plans are great. These rooms will be beautiful when they’re done. My master bath will finally have a personality (builder grade lighting and fixtures are rather bland). My family room carpet, with its wear and tear from two sweet, but large Labrador Retrievers, will make way for warm wood tones. My home office will lose its particleboard, garage sale shelves for those that actually match my desk. Oh, it will be beautiful.

There’s only one problem . . . my plans are just on paper. There’s no way they’ll be completed until I actually do something about them.

Have you ever felt that way? That you’re just a plan on paper? That you’re somehow unfinished? That you’re worn carpet when you want to be wood?

I have. I look back over my life and the plans I’ve made. Things I thought I wanted and didn’t get. Things I didn’t want, but got anyway.

And I realize I’m far from complete. I’m not what I thought I’d be, but guess what? I’m what God planned I’d be. And what’s even better, I’m, as the apostle Paul said, a work in progress. I’m being perfectly completed by the Master Planner, the Master Designer. God has not only written the plans, He’s working the plans!

Isn’t that amazing? Every circumstance, every season of my life is being used by God to refine me, to grow me, to complete me. And one day, I’ll stand before Him, and I will be a finished work, a completed plan.

And you will too.

Sauni Rinehart is a speaker, vocalist, and writer through Triple-E Ministries (www.saunirinehart.com) or visit her blog at http://saunirinehart.blogspot.com. She is also involved in worship arts and women's ministries at her home church. She and her husband make their home in Eastvale, California.
Read Sauni's devotions.

Furnace of Affliction - Sauni Rinehart

“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10

Things have been rough lately, haven’t they? I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t encountered some kind of loss because of the economy, whether it was something they experienced personally or a problem faced by someone they know.

And in the midst of what’s happening with the economy, war continues, disease steals health and lives, children still go hungry.

Times of affliction continue unabated. And it seems to be getting worse.

I’ve been in the “furnace of affliction” for a while now, it seems. While medication appears to be helping a bit, my chronic health issues continue to wreak havoc on my body. A few weeks ago, my husband and I watched his mom lose her battle with cancer. I have friends and loved ones who are facing their own battle against that insidious disease. And just recently, an amazingly talented group of people with whom I was privileged to work at a local nonprofit theater, was told their show had to be canceled.

It’s hard to understand “why” sometimes. Yes, we can go to verses like Romans 8:28 to be assured that God really does work all things for good, but that doesn’t always help the daily pain.
For me, during dark times, encouragement comes from one thing: remembering what God has done in the past, how the “furnace of affliction” really does refine me and make me more the woman God created me to be. I know I’m stronger because of the trials. I know I’m closer to God because of the afflictions. I know I can withstand the lies of the enemy because I’ve seen God keep His promises.

If I—if we—can remember His faithfulness, then these times, these afflictions that we experience for a “little while” are worth it—every time.
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Sauni Rinehart is a speaker, vocalist, and writer through Triple-E Ministries (www.saunirinehart.com) or visit her blog at http://saunirinehart.blogspot.com. She is also involved in worship arts and women's ministries at her home church. She and her husband make their home in Eastvale, California.

Bad Hair Day - Sauni Rinehart

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14a

It’s a bad hair day. To be honest, it’s a bad hair, face, and body day. I woke this morning, and wondered, as I often do, whether I could even get out of bed.

I live with a couple of chronic health issues that cause significant pain and fatigue and, on the bad days, I question the words of Psalm 139:14. I get the “fearfully” part. Some synonyms for “fearfully” are awfully, frightfully, horrendously. And yes, I feel pretty horrendous at times. And so frightful that I could probably scare small children. But then I have to remember, another synonym is “awesomely.” Awesome. Worthy of awe. God sees me as His awesomely, wonderfully created daughter.

That gives me pause.

Do I really believe that? I say I believe in God and that His word is truth. And if that’s so, then I have to believe He sees me as an awesome, wonderful woman. He sees me as worthy of awe. It’s not easy to remember this. I often feel very far from worthy. I allow the events of the day (or week or month or year) to color my thoughts and cloud my mind. I begin to whine and complain (is there a spiritual gift of whining?), and then, like a shot in the arm (or a thump upside the head), I hear the Lord remind me of how much He loves me. It’s at those times when I feel most unworthy that I must trust God and His word.

I’m worthy in His eyes. You are worthy in His eyes.

Stop a moment, and repeat these words, “I am an awesomely, wonderfully created child of God.” Say them until you believe them. Write these words of promise on a sticky note—maybe on a lot of sticky notes. Post them all around to remind you of God’s love for you.

And when you have those bad hair, face, and body days, remember who you are—God’s awesomely, wonderfully created child.

I’ll try to do the same.

Sauni Rinehart is a speaker, vocalist, and writer through Triple-E Ministries (www.saunirinehart.com) or visit her blog at http://saunirinehart.blogspot.com. She is also involved in worship arts and women's ministries at her home church. She and her husband make their home in Eastvale, California.

Mustering the Heart - Sauni Rienhart

“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14b NKJV

Imagine being young and beautiful, so beautiful that you were chosen out of hundreds to be queen of a vast kingdom. Imagine having anything you could ever want and people waiting on you hand and foot.

I don’t know about you, but there’s something appealing about lying on a lounge chair being fanned by a loyal servant, eating stuffed dates from a golden tray, and drinking fine wine from a jewel-encrusted goblet. Especially when I’ve just finished the laundry or cleaned the dishes . . . no goblet in sight.

Yes, Esther certainly had it made, didn’t she?

Now imagine being asked to give up all the perks of loyalty. But not only the perks, perhaps your very life.

That’s what Esther was asked to do. Her people’s lives were in danger. And Esther was the only person in a position to influence the king and spare her people. She had to muster the heart and courage to follow God’s lead. Her problem? She was a Jew, and to enter the king’s presence without his permission could mean death.

I can relate with Esther . . . well, at least a little. I’ve never been asked to risk my life, but I’ve risked my job by not doing things that went against my Christian beliefs. I’ve even risked my marriage by pursuing ministry even though my husband doesn’t share my faith. At those times, I’ve asked myself the same crucial question from the verse above. And I realize: I’m not a queen, but God has placed me where I am for “such a time as this.”

God puts each of His children exactly where He wants them. You may be in an impossible situation. You may be asked to make a choice from which nothing good can happen—nothing good in your eyes, perhaps. It takes heart and courage.

It all comes down to faith. Does your faith in God give you confidence to make the hard choices? Do you believe Him when He says that all things work out for good. In the moment when Esther decided to help her people, no matter what happened to her, she had no idea that her choice would save an entire nation. And who’s to say that a tough choice you make, in faith, won’t save, maybe not a nation, but a life, or a heart, or a soul?

Sauni Rinehart is a speaker, vocalist, and writer through Triple-E Ministries (sauni@saunirinehart.com) or visit her blog at http://saunirinehart.blogspot.com. She is also involved in worship arts and women’s ministries at her home church. She and her husband make their home in Eastvale, California.

Plan the Work and Work the Plan -- Sauni Rinehart

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

I have redecorating on the brain, and I have great plans to complete some projects. I plan to tile our master bathroom, build bookshelves for my home office, lay hardwood in our family room—well, at least I plan to have others do these things.

My plans are great. These rooms will be beautiful when they’re done. My master bath will finally have a personality (builder grade lighting and fixtures are rather bland). My family room carpet, with its wear and tear from two sweet, but large Labrador retrievers, will make way for warm wood tones. My home office will lose its particleboard, garage sale shelves for those that actually match my desk. Oh, it will be beautiful.

There’s only one problem . . . my plans are just on paper. There’s no way they’ll be completed until I actually do something about them.

Have you ever felt that way? That you’re just a plan on paper? That you’re somehow unfinished? That you’re worn carpet when you want to be wood?

I have. I look back over my life and the plans I’ve made. Things I thought I wanted and didn’t get. Things I didn’t want, but got anyway.

And I realize that I’m far from complete. I’m not what I thought I’d be, but guess what? I’m what God planned I’d be. And what’s even better, I’m, as the apostle Paul said, a work in progress. I’m being perfectly completed by the Master Planner, the Master Designer. God has not only written the plans, He’s working the plans!

Isn’t that amazing? Every circumstance, every season of my life is being used by God to refine me, to grow me, to complete me. And one day, I’ll stand before Him, and I will be a finished work, a completed plan.

And you will too.

Sauni Rinehart is a speaker, vocalist, and writer through Triple-E Ministries (www.saunirinehart.com). She is also involved in worship arts and women’s ministries at her home church. She and her husband make their home in Eastvale, California.