And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. Psalm 1:3
Let this truth sink in and go after the dreams God has placed in your heart.
Seek Him in prayer and watch Him guide your footsteps!
You are capable of amazing things!
How?
Because of this simple yet powerful truth…
“The Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Beloved, you have the Spirit of the Great I AM living in you!
With Him ALL things are possible!
You can do it!
© Sharon Pankey 2019
This is my prayer for you today,
“…I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21
May you rest in His promises.
May you abound in His love.
May you be strengthened in His power.
© Sharon Pankey 2019
You have been chosen by God. He loved you first. All the days of your life were ordained by God. He knows the seasons you will face and the purpose of them. He knows what He is doing in your life. Trust Him. Wherever you are, know that God is in control. You can bear fruit even if it feels like a desert. He has purposefully appointed your season and placed you where you are for a reason. Stay in prayer and seek Him in all things. Trust the process. God’s got you!
© Sharon Pankey 2019
His perfect love is waiting for you with open arms.
There’s an exchange that’s waiting to happen.
Your mourning for His resurrection power.
Your brokenness for His restoration.
Your burdens for His rest.
Your sorrow for His joy.
Your pain for His healing.
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3
Hold onto what God is speaking to you today beloved, “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” Jeremiah 31:3
As He draws you to Him, lay it all at His throne.
Make that exchange and put on a garment of praise!
© Sharon Pankey 2019
Sometime after the resurrection…
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You BELIEVE because you have seen me. BLESSED are those who believe without seeing me.” John 20:19-29
Blessed – happy, spiritually secure and favored by God.
Beloved, Jesus did not condemn Thomas and neither does He condemn us, for if we are honest with ourselves, we are Thomas. How many times have we been flooded with doubt?
For us, in those moments when we are flooded with doubt we must make a choice and bring them to the Father because if left untouched by His loving hands our doubt can quickly lead to discouragement which then leads to a loss of hope.
Perhaps today is the day that God is calling us to turn away from unbelief and see Him for who He truly is. Perhaps today is the day you take in ALL the promises written in His Word and believe them for your life. When Jesus entered the room, He entered speaking PEACE. Today, go before God and ask for His peace to cover you. If there is any area in your life that you are struggling to believe Him for, ask Him to help you believe again. He will.
Jesus beckoned Thomas in love to believe that it was Him. Did you catch that? It was love, not condemnation. That same love is beckoning you today to lay all unbelief at His feet and let Him fill you with joy, peace, and hope. Cast your eyes not on the circumstances of your life but on the One who holds your life in His hands.
“…Anything is possible if a person believes.” Mark 9:23
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1
© Sharon Pankey 2019
“He’s not here. He has been brought back to life as He said..” Matthew 28:6
Because Jesus lives, we know that He holds our lives in His hands.
He has conquered death and He has made ALL things new.
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
He is not dead! He is alive!
Rejoice in the resurrection of our Savior!
There is power in His resurrection!
Beloved, that same resurrection power is spoken over your life right now. What in your life needs to come back to life? What have you stopped praying about? What relationship needs restoration? What God-sized dream seems impossible?
“The same power that raised Christ from the dead is living in you.” Romans 8:11
Pray again. Hope again. Believe again. Try again. Dream again. Love again. Step out on faith again. Hold onto His unchanging hand once again.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3
© Sharon Pankey 2019
Be encouraged,
God knows you. He loves you. He is guiding you. He is protecting you.
You cannot outrun His presence. He is aware of ALL that is happening in your life. You are precious to Him and you matter.
Take some time to read and meditate upon the words of David:
God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful—I can’t take it all in!
Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, You’d find me in a minute—you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I’m immersed in the light!” It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.
Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! God, I’ll never comprehend them! I couldn’t even begin to count them—any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you! And please, God, do away with wickedness for good! And you murderers—out of here!—all the men and women who belittle you, God infatuated with cheap god-imitations. See how I hate those who hate you, God, see how I loathe all this godless arrogance; I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred. Your enemies are my enemies!
Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—then guide me on the road to eternal life.
Psalm 139 (Message)
© Sharon Pankey 2019
Stay connected to the One who will fill you with joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Stay connected to the One who fills you with hope, faith and the ability to persevere.
Stay connected to the One who will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
Stay connected to the One who equips you to do what He has called you to do.
Stay connected to the One who gives you wisdom and strength.
Christ came to give you life and life in abundance. Choose to abide in Him.
Choose to rest in Him.
Choose to stay connected to Him.
For apart from Him you can do nothing.
© Sharon Pankey 2019
© Sharon Pankey 2019
Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash
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