Jillian Ahonen

This morning, I’m sitting here reminded of the faithfulness of God.

I have promises that have yet to be fulfilled, but I know who my God is. He is faithful. When He says it, I believe Him.

I want to encourage you today… if you have promises that have yet to be fulfilled, remind yourself of this powerful truth: our God does not lie. If He says it, believe Him.

Stand firm in your faith.

His promises do not have an expiration date.

Ministry is not reserved for what we do inside the building.

It’s how we live our lives every single day.

We are living, breathing testimonies with opportunities all around us to be an extension of Jesus to those around us.

This is the ministry Jesus invited us into.

So go be a light in someone’s world today.

Amen? 🔥🙌🏼♥️

I’ve heard many say things like, “Oh, I just knew God was in this because everything flowed so easily and came together effortlessly.” ⁣

I’ve heard statements like that so often that when things don’t go smoothly and get hard, it has caused me to wrestle and wonder if I’m out of sync with God’s timing or maybe I heard wrong. I mean, if God said it, where’s my “poof, it’s finished—THANK YOU JESUS!” outcome? ⁣

Now, I’m not talking about timing. I’ve had many seasons of waiting, and I know the difference. I’m talking about when you really felt like God was in something, said yes, said go… and then it got haaaaaaaaard. ⁣

So hard that it caused you to stop and question everything you thought was a green light and a “yes” from God.

So hard that you want to retreat and run back to what’s familiar. So hard that you start thinking, there is no way this was God’s plan. ⁣

I’m talking about when you see nothing but dead ends and constant battles that leave you so weary and wiped out that you think, I must’ve really missed God on this one. ⁣

I’ve been there so many times that I sometimes wonder if God has purposely allowed me to walk through things the “hard way” so I can be a voice that reminds us all: just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not God. ⁣

The sign that something is from God can’t be that it was easy. ⁣

To be honest, there’s really not much growth in easy. It doesn’t require much faith or trust. And how in the world are our spiritual muscles and character going to grow if life is always handed to us on a Holy Spirit silver platter? ⁣

The truth is, we can’t fully develop if we have nothing that helps shape us. ⁣

Muscles can’t grow without the sweat and effort of heavy lifting. ⁣

Rocks don’t become smooth until they’ve been tossed around in the waves. ⁣

A sculpture can’t be defined until it’s been chiseled. ⁣

Silver can’t be refined until it’s been held in the flame. ⁣

God is in your hard. He uses the hard to build us—to smooth out what is broken and rough, to refine and define, to shape and prepare us for all that He has in store. ⁣

So don’t give up. The struggle may be real, but so is the God who walks with you through it. ⁣

So many of us are under the impression that being a Christian is memorizing God’s Word, trying to live it out, and knowing that we have the future hope of Heaven, but we miss the lifeline Jesus came to bring us.
We miss the very presence of the living, breathing God Almighty in our lives EVERY SINGLE DAY!

We have the honor of grabbing our Heavenly Father’s hand every day while we are here on earth, and every day, we are being made more and more into the likeness of Him. Don’t skim over these words quickly. Read them slowly. Take in what I am trying to relay to you.

There is not a moment that goes by that God is not revealing Himself and pursuing you.

There is not a moment in this life that you have to live alone.

How do we know these Truths?

How do we fully comprehend the mysteries of Heaven and the mysteries of God’s heart to us? It is through His Spirit and time spent with Him that these life-breathing scriptures enter into our hearts so deeply and passionately that they fuse into our entire being!

It’s the most incredible adventure we will ever have in this life to go before the Throne of Grace, spending time with the Creator of all things!
I can’t make this stuff up. I can’t come up with a façade of being in the presence of God.

He is real.

In His presence is where we become fully alive!

Prayer:

Father, thank You that I never have to walk through this life alone. Open my eyes to see Your presence and Your pursuit of me each day. Draw me deeper into relationship with You, not just knowledge about You. Help me slow down, grab hold of Your hand, and become more aware of Your Holy Spirit at work in my life. Make me more like You as I spend time with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Join Us on the Journey

Sisters, if this devotional encouraged your heart, I would love to invite you to join us for She Will Rise Online as we journey together through Life is Muddy.

Beginning June 30 at 7:00 PM PST, we’ll gather online each week to encourage one another, grow in our relationship with Jesus, and discover what it looks like to walk hand in hand with Him through every season of life.

Whether you’re in a season of strength or a season of stretching, you don’t have to walk alone.

Connect with me the comments and I will personally reach out with more details.

I hope you’ll join us. 🤍, J

Give God your bold YES and FAITH FORWARD!

🤍, J

One of the most powerful things we can grow in as believers is our understanding of the will of God.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve reduced God’s will to a self-focused perspective.

We ask questions like, “Is it God’s will that I buy this house?” “Is it God’s will that I take this job?” “Is it God’s will that I move here or there?”

And while God absolutely cares about the details of our lives and invites us to seek His direction, the will of God is so much bigger than that.

When we read through the New Testament, we discover the mystery of God’s will revealed through Jesus Christ.

His will was to redeem mankind.

His will was to restore us back into relationship with the Father.

His will was to conform us to the image of Christ.

His will was to fill us with His Spirit and send us into the world as His ambassadors.

The will of God is not simply about where we live or what career we pursue. It’s about becoming like Jesus.

It’s about yielding our lives to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to shape us, going from glory to glory.

We are empowered vessels of the Holy Spirit, called to do the will of the Father—to be the hands and feet of Jesus and fill the earth with His love and power.

But this work always begins with personal encounter.

Before God works through us, He desires to work in us.

As we spend time with Him, know Him, and surrender ourselves to His transforming work, Christ is formed within us. His love reshapes us. His truth renews us. His presence changes us from the inside out.

And what God does in us naturally begins to flow through us.

It impacts our homes.

It impacts our marriages and families.

It impacts our workplaces, our communities, and every space in between.

We become carriers of His Kingdom.

We begin releasing His peace into anxious situations, His love into broken places, and His hope into a world desperate for answers.

Instead of being controlled by what people think, shaken by life circumstances, or oppressed by the atmosphere around us, we become those who shift atmospheres because Christ lives within us.

We were never called to be products of our environment.

We were called to be carriers of His presence.

We were never meant to live beneath the weight of fear, offense, discouragement, anxiety, or the opinions of others.

We were called to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, revealing the nature of Christ wherever we go.

When the Kingdom of God is alive within us, we cannot help but reflect and radiate its transforming power.

His presence within us becomes visible around us.

His love is expressed through us.

His peace flows through us.

His light shines through us.

And the world around us encounters Jesus through the life we have surrendered to Him.

So the question is not, “What is God’s will for my life?”

We have this answer written in the Word of God, and God’s will doesn’t change.

The bigger question is, “Am I surrendering my life to God’s will?”

Because His will has always been clear.

That we would know Him.

Become like Him.

Reflect Him.

Reveal Him.

And carry His love and power into every place we step, until the world around us encounters Him through us.

So let us stop waiting for a future assignment and fully embrace the mission already before us.

Let us surrender more deeply, walk more boldly, and trust the Holy Spirit to work through us every day.

The world is longing to encounter Jesus.

And God has chosen His people to reveal Him.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” — 2 Corinthians 3:18

Some of the most beautiful moments I've witnessed over the years haven't happened from a stage.

They've happened around tables with Bibles open, surrendered hearts, and a willingness to say yes to the work God wants to do in their lives.

I've watched fear lose its grip.

I've watched faith rise.

I've watched people discover healing, freedom, and purpose they never thought possible by simply going to His Word and allowing His truth to sink deeply into their hearts until they are living transformed and free.

God's truth has a way of transforming lives when we give Him room to work.

There is something incredibly powerful about partnering with what He is doing.

As I prepare for She Will Rise Online, I find myself looking forward to those moments all over again.

Beginning June 30, we'll be gathering together each Tuesday evening as we walk through my book, Life is Muddy.

We'll open God's Word.

We'll have honest conversations.

And we'll continue taking steps toward the wholeness and freedom Jesus paid for.

I'd love for you to join us around the table. 🤍

God’s approval is all you need.

Faith forward!

Life gets muddy.

Disappointment.

Heartbreak.

Fear.

Loss.

Unanswered prayers.

Unexpected detours.

But God never leaves us there.

For years, women have asked me if there was a way to connect, grow, and be discipled online.

Well… here it is. 🤍

Beginning June 30, we’ll gather together every Tuesday night at 7 PM PST for the She Will Rise Online Community as we journey through my book, Life is Muddy.

This isn’t just a book study.

It’s an invitation to walk through the muddy places of life and discover how God meets us there.

Together we’ll talk about overcoming disappointment, healing from past wounds, renewing our minds, trusting God in difficult seasons, finding our identity in Christ, and learning how to rise above the circumstances that try to keep us stuck.

If you’ve ever felt weary, overwhelmed, discouraged, or simply hungry for more of God, this community is for you.

You don’t have to walk alone.

Come grow with us.

Come heal with us.

Come RISE with us.

Because your story isn’t over.

And God is still writing it. 🌿🤍

Tuesday Nights • 7 PM PST
Beginning June 30

Reply to this post or send me a message if you’d like more information.