Thirst With Sheryl

His Mercy

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV says The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  Steadfast according to Merriam-Webster,  means firmly fixed in place, immovable, and not subject to change
.  Therefore, God’s love for us is firmly fixed in place, immovable and not subject to change
. I want listeners to get that fixed in your mind! The verse continues by saying his mercies never come to an end.  Mercy is not receiving something you do deserve.

The Wilderness

There are many biblical definitions of wilderness, one being, an uncultivated and uninhabited region; another definition, is a state of disorder.  
In this wilderness or like the example above, the desert, there is no one that will listen to you complain, no one that will sympathize with you, no one who can help you by sending you a mode of transportation, an air conditioner, a heater, or even a meal etc.  It is just you & God in the desert, in your wilderness. 
Hopefully, by now, you can identify.
Either, you remember a time when you were in the wilderness, or you may even be in your wilderness right now.
It could be a job loss, severe illness, multiple deaths of loved ones, marital turmoil, wayward children, financial burdens, etc. Remember part of the definition of wilderness is a state of disorder. And in the wilderness, there is usually such a state of disorder, that it is simply impossible for you to get out.
In Mat 19:26, Jesus was speaking to his disciples. The NIV says, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Patience and Self Control

Patience is a behavior showing high moral standards. 
The phrase “Patience is a virtue” means it's a good quality to be patient and tolerate delays, pain, or misfortune without losing your temper. Self-Control is a behavior where one is able to exercise restraint and/or keep composure. And let me remind you that both patience and self-control are fruit of the Spirit.  The fruit of the spirit is a set of attributes that the Holy Spirit develops in people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.  Supporting scripture,
Gal 5:22-23 The CEV reads as such, God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.
 
 

The Truth

Ok let’s get right to it. The Big T, Truth!  The truth cannot be suppressed or hidden. Truth is indestructible. People may refuse to face the truth, they can disguise the truth, they may try to ignore the truth or even refuse to accept the truth. Although truth is not always favored, it is ALWAYS RIGHT!  And guess what? truth always wins in the end!

Don't Forget People

You see not only do we need to read, study & meditate on the word of God to help bear fruit, but we also need each other in the body of Christ.
Prov 27:17 NIV
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Blossom End Rot

Just as the tomatoes, peppers and watermelon need the calcium, watering, & moisture to develop fruit, we as Christians need to read/meditate on the Word, develop intimacy, prayer time, and worship with other believers; if not, we too, will be deficient in developing our fruit. 

For the Rest of your Life, Ball it Up!

So here is a faith exercise, for casting all your cares, worries & anxieties, so that you, we, can enter into His REST.  Remember faith without works is dead in other words, listeners, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead
Write down a list of everything in your life that is causing you stress/worry/anxiety. Just a suggestion, write each worry separately on a piece of paper, because at times it takes us a minute to give certain things to God.
Be honest & transparent with yourself, because God already knows what is causing you unrest. Nobody has to know, just you and your Daddy.
Once you have it on a piece of paper, AFFIRM out loud, “God I give my worrying of my daughter over to you.
Then your action step is to Ball up that piece of paper, and toss it into the trash can.  And receive rest.  Receive inward quietness, composure & peace.

Why Rest

First, let me just clarify that rest does not mean sleep, inactivity or stillness. Biblically, the meaning for rest is to be inwardly quiet, composed, peaceful. Verse 10 tells us that even God ceased from his own works to rest.  Verse 11 tells us to labor to enter that same rest. Now if God entered into the rest, what makes us think that we don’t need to enter into that same rest? Aren’t we God’s children? I mean, aren’t we supposed to, “Act like our Daddy?”

Sowing and Reaping

The principle of reaping and sowing applies to Christians & non-Christians. This principle is irrevocable and there is no escape. It is a law of life. Charles Stanley, a well known American Southern Baptist pastor and writer, says that there are 3 principles that are considered to be true in all circumstances when it comes to sowing and reaping.
We reap what we sow
We reap more than we sow
We reap later than we sow
Let’s take my example of the butterfly bush seeds. I sowed seeds and reaped a bush.  The bush was way more than a couple of seeds and the bush did not appear until a year later.  So again, we reap what we sow, we reap more than we sow and we reap later than we sow.

Default

So, what is your default mode?
Do you have a plan for when the extremely challenging times come?
When it feels like your world is upside down?
When all Hell has broken loose?
Do you turn to the substance or turn to the Spirit?
What’s in your defaulted heart?
Is the word tucked in your heart?
Ps 119:11 NIV says I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Will your defaulted mind be filled with bleak or harmful thoughts that take you back?
Remember thoughts become words and words become actions.  
2 Cor 10:5b NIV says we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.