God’S Girl Devotionals: My Journey Through Life with God by My Side

By Taylor Jasmine Cummings

Life is a journey, and God desires to walk beside us every step of the way. In Gods Girl Devotionals, you will get to experience what God has been teaching me along our journey together. This book will encourage you in knowing youre not alone. It will challenge you, in your walk with God, to grow and become more like Him. You will get to experience what a journey with God looks like in everyday lifefrom the mountain peaks to the valley lows. As you read this book, you will discover that God is not looking for perfect people. His desire is that we would have a real, personal relationship with Him. As I share my journey with you, I pray it will help you on your journey through life with God by your side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490836591

Taylor Jasmine Cummings

Taylor lives in California, in a small town called Tehachapi. God has placed the call on her life to write. Never did she imagine she would be publishing a book; but when God gets involved, He makes a way. Taylor longs to live a life where God says to her at the end of every day, “Well done!” Her hope in writing is that God will use what He gives her to share to touch the lives of those who read it.

Book preview

When Told to Make a Sacrifice

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G enesis 22:2, Take your son, your only son-yes, Isaac, whom you love so much-and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.

Years of waiting had gone by for Abraham. He had been promised a son years before, but God’s timing wasn’t fast. God did follow through with His promise, but He did it in His timing.

Finally, Abraham had the son God had promised him. Finally, he had the son he waited for all these years!

Now, though, God told him, Take your son, your only son-yes, Isaac, whom you love so much-and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you. Genesis 22:2.

I wonder what went through Abraham’s mind in that moment. I wonder if he contemplated how Isaac would feel being tied to an altar as the sacrificial lamb. I wonder what he thought about as he tied up his son (whom he had waited for all this time) knowing that he was going to have to kill him.

The Bible doesn’t say what went through Abraham’s mind. All we read is this:

"The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

‘Stay here with the donkey,’ Abraham told the servants. ‘The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.’

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.

As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, ‘Father?’

‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.

‘We have the fire and the wood,’ the boy said, ‘but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?’

‘God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,’ Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice." Genesis 22:3-10.

We don’t know what went through Abraham’s mind. What we do know is what he chose to do regardless of how he may have felt.

Abraham didn’t know what the outcome would be. Abraham didn’t know that God would tell him to stop right before he sacrificed Isaac. What Abraham did know was his God. Abraham had learned over the years that he could trust His God even when what God said didn’t make sense to him. Abraham loved his son, but He loved God more.

Have you ever had to choose between God and what you wanted?

Recently I was faced with a choice. Recently, I had to choose between obeying God or having things go my way. I had a decision to make.

Thoughts ran through my mind wondering what to do. I contemplated turning my back on God to do what was going to fulfill me in the here and now. I contemplated taking the easy road.

As I thought of this, though, I realized that doing things my way really wasn’t going to bring true fulfillment.

I went through turmoil. I went through a lot of internal battles between my flesh and my spirit, but God won out.

God reminded me of His character. God reminded me of why I’m really here. God reminded me of the bigger picture.

When I got my focus off of me (my dreams, my hopes, and even my fears), and I looked up to God, I realized that He is all I need. As I took a step back and realized just how short this life really is, I was reminded that where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. (See Matthew 6:21 or Luke 12:34).

Did Abraham love his son? Yeah! He loved him deeply! Abraham knew, though, that he couldn’t love Isaac more than he loved God.

Tonight, I feel like I had to actually sacrifice what God told me to sacrifice, and I wasn’t told Stop! like Abraham was. Today, I feel like I really had to lay down the life instead of being brought a lamb. The question is this: Do I still trust God?

Thankfully I know that God really is enough! No matter what else I have in life, as long as I have God, I have everything I need! As long as I have God, I have security that everything is going to be okay no matter what the outcome may be.

What is God asking you to lay down as a sacrifice? Maybe He is asking you to sacrifice the one thing you’ve waited for all these years. I encourage you, though, to give that sacrifice to God and trust that He will, in time, bring you a lamb.

Dear Heavenly Father,

As I think about this story of Abraham and Isaac, I think about how difficult this command was. I think about the fact that Abraham had so much love for his son, yet he had even more love for You! Lord, today I feel like I was told to sacrifice my one dream. Today, I feel like I had my promise in the palm of my hand and I was told to lay it down as a sacrifice. Lord, I don’t understand, but I do trust You. I trust that even in the most confusing circumstances, You still have a good plan for my life. I trust You, God, to know better than I know myself. I pray my love for You will always be greater than my love for anyone or anything else!

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen.

A Life Bigger than Yourself

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E phesians 4:1, Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

Ephesians 4:21-24, Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.

In Ephesians 4, Paul wrote and told Christians to live a life that is worthy of their calling. He told them to do so because they had been called by God.

As I read this, I realize that I need to live my life in a way that is worthy of my calling.

What has God called me to?

I’ve had a lot to consider about what God is calling me to. I have a tendency to want things to happen fast, so instead of living a life worthy of God’s calling on my life, I like to settle and reason my way through it.

This week, I decided that it was time for me to start diving into ministry and making my life be a life that is more than just about me. I decided it was time for me to begin doing things that will make a difference in other people’s lives.

As I do this, though, I am finding that I am going to have to be living my life in a way that is above reproach. As I dive into ministry, I’m finding that I will now be reaching a place of having other people look at me as a leader. To be a leader is such a gift, but it is also a great responsibility!

When I come to the realization that I will be in a leadership position, I am finding that a sloppy, all-about-me life will no longer fly. When we step out and step up, it is a great blessing, but it cannot be taken lightly.

As we read through Ephesians 4, we eventually get to verses 21-24 which talk about throwing off our sinful nature and our former way of life. That life is corrupted by lust and deception. It says to instead let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. We are told to put on our new nature… the nature that is created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.

It’s easy for me to want to hold onto my old nature, but as Paul tells us in Ephesians, we MUST throw off our old sinful nature. It doesn’t say to slowly rid yourself of your old sinful nature. It doesn’t say to get rid of some of your sinful nature and some of your former ways of life. Rather, it says to THROW OFF the old sinful nature.

Have you ever had a bandage on your skin that you eventually had to take off? Sometimes taking that bandage off seems like it’s going to hurt, but as we all know, if we slowly take it off, the pain only lasts longer, but if we would simply rip it off quickly, perhaps it’ll hurt for a time, but it would be much less painful than a slow tear.

The same is true with us throwing off our old nature… our sin nature. If we can simply throw off the old nature, we can then get up and get on with the rest of our lives.

Next, we are told to put on our new nature. We’re supposed to let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes.

Initially, the sin nature is going to want to be back in action, but after prayer and continually standing firm, eventually our thoughts and attitudes will be renewed by the Holy Spirit. We can’t do this on our own, but thankfully, we can do all things through Christ Who gives us strength. (See Philippians 4:13).

Are you ready to throw off your old nature and begin living in the new life God has waiting for you? I encourage you to start today. No looking back… only looking ahead and setting your eyes on what lies before you: Jesus and all that He has for you.

Dear Jesus,

My flesh screams to hang onto my old nature, but You are calling me to live a life that is bigger than myself. In order to do so, I must throw off my old nature and begin pressing into the new nature that You have called me to live in. I pray that You will help me keep my eyes on the prize which is You and not get side-tracked with momentary pleasures of this world. Open doors You want open. Close doors You want closed. Allow me to begin walking in the new nature and never returning to the old, sinful nature. As I step into ministry, I realize that now I must be above reproach. I pray You’ll help me follow You wholeheartedly and be quick to repent when I sin and fall short of You.

In Jesus’ Name.

Amen.

The Perfect Place for a Miracle

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J eremiah 29:11, ’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’

Romans 8:28, And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 are two verses that I am reminded of often in recent circumstances in my life.

Have you ever been at a place in your life where you quite honestly couldn’t see how what was going on was something that God intended to bring you hope and a future from? Have you ever wondered, How on earth is this ever going to work together for my good?

If you answered, Yes. to either of those questions, I can assure you, you aren’t alone.

I too have had those thoughts pop into my mind. How can something so ugly… so broken… so painful… ever be used for good?

As I look at the above verses, I realize that they are true, even though I can’t understand at the moment how they’re going to prove true.

When I look in the Bible, I am reminded of all the stories that seemed exactly like mine- hopeless -where God decided to take the broken pieces and put them back together. You see, God isn’t a God of destruction. God is a God of restoration. He doesn’t want to take the messes in our lives and let them be the end of the story. He wants