Garment of Praise

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

 

 

 

 

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Blessings of Belief

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

Come to Life

“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

 

You are Beloved

 

 

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

 

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

 

She Rejoices

The Proverbs 31 Woman. I’d like to think of her as someone who I can take bits and pieces of and mold into me. This scripture is not striving for an image of perfection rather an image of a woman  who has found her confidence in God and is using her gifts to serve Him and others.

She is a blessed woman. She is a woman of wisdom, compassion, love and strength.

Most importantly, she is a woman who seeks the Father’s heart in all things. She is a woman who does her work as unto the Lord. She is a woman who knows that true beauty and self-worth is found by resting in her Saviour.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. Proverbs 31:25

There is something about this verse that stands out. As if it is written in big bold letters.

“SHE SHALL REJOICE IN TIME TO COME.”

In the time to come.

Whatever God has ordained for her life, she will trust in Him.

Because she has chosen the garments of strength and the might of God, she can face whatever comes her way.

Because she knows her life is in His all capable hands, she can rest secure in Him.

Because she trusts in the truth of His Word that He will never leave her nor forsake her, she will not fear or become anxious when she can’t see the way before her.

Because she stands on the foundation of His Word that the plans He has for her are good and not to harm her, she can believe that the trials that come will not defeat her.

She shall rejoice in time to come because she knows the Creator has the absolute best pathway for her life. Even when she cannot see or understand an uncertain future, she reminds herself that He is the Good Father.

She can face tomorrow rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord, trusting for His provision and resting in His unfailing love.

Beloved, He who has numbered your days will Himself walk with you each and every step of the way and that is why you can rejoice in time to come.

© Sharon Pankey 2019

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Seek

Hide & Seek. The game that I, as a child vividly remember playing at recess. It was a game that was filled with wonder and surprise for the little imaginations that we all had.  The fun we had running, looking and waiting to discover the hiding places of our playmates. The game could go on and on until we were worn out or until the whistle blew signaling that our playtime had ended.

Beloved, the same wonder, surprise, excitement, awe and delight we had as children can be found in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, if we would only seek Him.

^“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Today, have your own ‘recess’. Take some time to be alone with God. Imagine that you are the seeker except this time there is no one hiding, rather Someone is waiting to be found.

“You make the path of life known to me. Complete joy is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever.” Psalm 16:11 

It is the Father who can show you new things. He can show you a path that you never thought about setting your foot upon. He can show you that joy is found in Him. Not happiness, which is circumstantial but JOY. Joy that supersedes any earthly emotion we could ever feel. He has ALL we need at ALL times.

If only we would seek Him.

Unlike our fun childhood game, He is never hiding. All He asks is that we seek Him.

I promise you this: you won’t be disappointed.

^“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

© Sharon Pankey 2019

Two are Better than One

Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9,10

Sometimes, you need someone to stand in prayer with you.

Sometimes you need someone to pray for you because quite honestly you don’t know what to pray.

That’s the beauty of sharing life with others.

I thank God for the people who have been there for me in my time of need and I thank God for the privilege to do the same for them.

Beloved, we were not meant to walk this path alone for it is filled with too many dips in the valleys and too many unexpected detours along the pathway.

So today, if you need someone to lift you up, I would be honored to serve you.

You don’t have to share with me the details of your petition because the One to Whom we pray already knows.

You were not meant to carry this burden alone.

You can reach me at RestinginHispromises77@yahoo.com and I will spend some time in prayer for you.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

© Sharon Pankey 2019

A Moment of Truth

God finishes what He starts. Nothing can thwart His plan for your life. Remember, we were created for a purpose and ultimately for His glory.

So even if you feel that you are not making any progress in this season of life and discouragement has set in, remember it is HE who equips you.

It is He who gives strength.

It is He who gives peace.

It is He who gives grace.

Do not rely on your own willpower.

The only power you will ever need and that will truly sustain you is found only in Him.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Don’t let your feelings deflect the truth of God’s Word; instead stand on the truth of who He is, for He is faithful to carry out His purpose in your life.

© Sharon Pankey 2019