Finding Our Faithfulness

So thanks for playing it cool while I was away for the last couple of weeks . I've really missed our time together , and before our time in this podcast , I've been in prayer as to what word I wanted to share with you today , and this is where I landed on the thought of faithfulness .

Faithfulness , whether it's an uncertain future , a promise that hasn't come to pass or a dream that has yet to be fulfilled , god , he's faithful , even when we may not be full of faith . You know , I feel , especially in this time of uncertainty and well , isn't much of our single experience uncertain , am I right ?

So I think it's important that we shift our focus off the news and onto the good news , to what we know is certain God's faithfulness .

Much of our daily walk as single parents is uncertain , as we straddle many struggles , wear many hats and ponder what is next for us and our family , even if you're moving forward , focused on your future , in school , working on a second job , in therapy or in a program to build or buy a home , you still may have moments of uncertainty , which can lead to fear ,

doubt and worry . Not today , though . We are doing what I like to call a fill her up , so to speak . We're going to find our faith . So God's faithfulness finds us , finds us trusting his plans even when things feel uncertain , when we've made a mess of things or maybe our mind is what is a mess .

Finding our strength not in sight of what we can see , but what we can't the knowing that he is faithful even when we are not . So thanks for joining me today as we explore how to remain faithful in the journey , not just for ourselves , but for the little ones who look up to us every day . Finding our faith .

I'll know about you , but sometimes I feel I need to find my faith as I lost it somewhere along the way , losing it like I lost my son along the rungs of clothing racks at the store .

Okay , have you ever had that moment when , shopping , suddenly something catches your eye and , in a hot flash , you look away for a second and then , as soon as you turn your head back in the direction of your kiddo , you realize they're gone .

As you frantically look high and low for them through the piles and miles of endless clothes , you pause and panic and freak out as you're on the lookout for them . For me , anyways , that is what it feels like when I lose my faith .

Something as simple as like a squirrel crosses my path and then I look in that direction and then I keep looking in that direction and over time I realize something's off and doesn't feel right .

I lost my connection , my discernment , my competence , my peace , and when I turned back in the direction I was headed in , I realized that it is my faith that I lost . So , if I'm being honest with you , I have lost my son more than once in a store . That is straight up facts . And here check this out it was I who was lost , not him .

Let me unpack this little suitcase for you . You see , I'm at Michael's the craft store to get something for my son's school project when suddenly that something caught my eye . Now , honestly , it has been so many years I can't remember what that something was , but it was probably some home decor if I had to guess .

But here is what is true about that situationship it was I who left my son , and not the other way around . That something let's call it home decor led me to another something , ooh , and then another something , ooh . Look at that . And before you know it , I was on the opposite side of the store from where I had left my son . I left him .

He didn't leave me . In fact , after my freak out when I noticed he was not with me , when I made my way back to where I left him , retracing my steps , did you know that ? He was still there playing on the floor with some dinosaurs waiting for me to come back .

And when I did finally come back , all disheveled , he said to me Mama , why did you leave me ? Ouch , okay , did my son just gut check me ? You see , I like in God's faithfulness , much like that experience . It's always there , even when we are not .

However , in my experience I have found my faithfulness may take some time to get back , as I may need to retrace some steps to where I once was , in step with our father , and I found myself on the other side of the store checking out some home decor . You see , I left my home base .

How many of you listening have had those moments or are in one right now . Girl , you need to be encouraged that you are in good company .

So isn't it funny how quickly and we can use me as the punching bag here Isn't it funny how quickly , let's just say , I can freak out panic and ponder where did my faith go , when God , much like my son , says where did you go , sherry ? Okay , god , I got you . Where did you go ? Well , that's a great question .

Have you ever thought about the places we go when we let go of our faith ? There are a few instances in the Bible where God says where are you , where did you go ? In Genesis 3 , 9 , when Adam was hiding in the bushes , even though God knew exactly where Adam was hiding . And it is the question the Lord continues to ask today .

Then , in another chapter in the book of Genesis , the angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur and he said Hagar , servant of Sarai , where have you come from and where are you going ? I'm running away from my mistress , sorry . She answered so again . This is where I go back to my point .

Where are you when God or the angel of the Lord says that in the Bible , what is really being asked is not where are you physically , what location ? Give me a GPS or a pin , drop when are you ? They are asking about your spiritual location , your heart center . Where are you ? Where did you go ?

It's funny that title reminds me of a famous Dr Seuss book that says All the Places you Will Go . Well , where did you go and where do you go to in those situations when you lose your faith ? Do you go to self-reliance , codependency , lust , covetousness , comparison , pride , idolatry , to name a few places ?

And then , when you get there , what are the feelings that led you there , do you notice ? Was it jealousy , judgment , bitterness , discontent , helplessness , despair , low self-worth , even discouragement ? And when you discovered , oh , I don't like the way that feels , then what did you do ?

Did you try taking it back , taking the control which you know you never really had anyways ? Did you course correct , adjusting your steering wheel when hitting a patch of ice as you were hydroplaning across three lanes of traffic ? Or did you take it out on God and make all this his fault , like , where did you go , god ? Were you even listening to me ?

Let me ask you is the place you went , possibly like me , on the other side of the store as you were looking for more and more of what , of what you could do to bring that dream to pass faster than God can do , which really he can make happen at any time with just one word . Or maybe did you think it wasn't even about doing it faster .

Well , your thought wasn't about that . Maybe your thought was , oh he forgot about me , so I'm just going to make this happen , or he must still be busy fulfilling somebody else's dream , so I'm just going to get mine now Heard . Okay . So listen , sister , you better check yourself before you wreck yourself .

How many of you are saying that right now or have even noticed that you have been saying that recently , been there , done that and you know what is really good news ? There are a ton of characters in the Bible who have done the same thing .

I can think of at least three amigas right now who went all old school in the Old Testament , who lost their faith , only to find it again in him Word . And here we go Three amigas .

So one thing I have really started to love about my time in the Word is that there are always characters in the Bible who I can relate to , as they act like me , or maybe I act like them , even though they are Old Testament and old school . Their mistakes or mess ups are not . There is nothing new under the sun , including repeated sin throughout history .

What's historical can also be hysterical , and so we will find that with Amiga number one , our girl Eve right out the gate , this sister had it made in the shade . She had the perfect figure , perfect husband and lived in the perfect place . She didn't even have to pay for it .

She was blessed beyond her belief and didn't even know it , taking it , her husband and God for granted . Instead of listening to God , who gave her everything she wanted , she falls for the ploy of the serpent , who I like to call aka . He's like the bad boy . We've all had one of those in our life . Because , well , what did he do ?

He promised her something she didn't have and she thought she needed it . There she goes , thinking the grass is greener when she lived in perfection . Hello , not only was she sold on this lie , but she sold her husband on it too , selling out their relationship with God right there in the garden .

From the beginning , their faith fell like a fig leaf they now had to wear . Don't worry , god found them , even though they didn't know where they were , and directed them , through his grace and mercy , out of the garden so they would never eat from the tree of life , living forever in this imperfect state they now found themselves in .

You will find more to that story in the book of Genesis , chapter 2 and 3 . And listen , if you know him , you know you get a new body when you leave this place , on this dust bowl of earth .

Word Okay Amiga , number two , sarai , God out of all the pagans on earth , calls on Abram , sarai's husband , to go from their country to a land that he will show them of milk and honey , telling them he will make you a great nation . I will bless you and make your name great , so that you will be a blessing . I will bless those who bless you .

You'll find that in Genesis 12 , verses 1 through 3 . All throughout their journey with God , god continues to bless them , giving them land possessions and clear direction on what to do , reminding them to your offspring .

I will give you this land Now , albeit both Abram and Sari were people of , let's say , a particular age and not likely to be able to bear children , god repeatedly reminds them this will happen and repeatedly reminds them in the direction they are to go . Now , both Abram and Sarai .

Well , they tend to overlook what God has told them repeatedly and take matters into their own hands , so to speak . In Sarai's case , who was vexed on the false belief that it was God who prevented her from bearing children you can find that in Genesis 16 , verse 2 . Even though God said otherwise , she's forgetting her faith .

And then she goes as far as to tell her husband yeah , it would be a great idea if he would just take her servant as a wife so he could bear a child through her , her servant . Now , check this , ladies Sarai viewed her servant not as a woman , not as a person , but property .

A woman was the first one in the book of the Bible , in the first of time , to view women as property . Now , that's hysterical . And then , well then , it would be a great idea if she got pregnant , because then her and Abraham could claim the child that would be born of her servant as their own .

Well now , abraham , being a dude like Adam , for some reason didn't use God's reasons and just rolled with whatever rolled out of their wife's mouth . Well , that went over like a lead balloon and just rolled downhill when the servant Hagar got pregnant and now had one up on her master Sarai . Side .

Note this mistake , like the one with amiga , number one eve , we all pay for this today , as the child born of hagar would also rise a nation known today as palestine . And when god's promise did come to pass and sarai bore a son who would be the great nation of Israel , the two are at war as we speak .

So , even though both Sarai and Abraham who , by the way , god renames them to Sarai and Abraham lost their mind and lost their faith , it was God that was still faithful to bring his promise to pass . You can read more to this story in Genesis , chapter 16 . And then there is Amiga , number three Rachel , rachel , rachel .

So , believe it or not , this Chica story is also found in the same first book of the Bible , genesis . Rachel was the love of Jacob's life , jacob , by the way , who was the grandson of Abraham , and Sarah . Rachel , much like her grandmother , was also barren . Now let me rewind for a second . Rachel was wife number two of Jacob .

Wife number one was her sister , leah , who could , by the way , bear children , and she bore lots of them . And oh yeah , it gets even more interesting as these two amigas were jealous of one another and always trying to one up one another .

So guess what happens when marriage departs from God's design of a man and a woman being married , of a man and a woman being married , jacob ? Well , he takes two more wives , the servants of Leah and Rachel , who also bore children , all of which were males . Rachel , much like her grandmother .

Well , she ain't having it , oh , god hasn't provided a child through her . So she commands her husband to have one with her servant . And as history is , what do we say ? Hysterical as it repeats itself . Well , you can figure out what happened .

Yes , the servant has a child , but in the end , as God is faithful , rachel would have a son , as God remembered , and God listened to her , and it is God who opened her womb . You can find that in Genesis 30 , verse 22 . In fact , well , she didn't just have any son .

Her son was Joseph , who would play a key part in saving the Jews who were in exile in Egypt . You could read more to that story in the book of Genesis . So I have a question for you when are you Wake up , by the way , spiritually , do you find yourself off doing your own thing because God hasn't done his thing ?

Has he made a promise to you that has not come to pass yet ? Have you taken matter into your own hands , so to speak , and made a mess of things ? If you're not rolling with God right now , well then who are you rolling with ? And have you lost not only your mind , but have you lost your faith ? Finding your faith ?

Maybe you , like me , don't have a storyline literally like the aforementioned amigas , but figuratively speaking , they are similar . Take a moment and , girl , you need to laugh at yourself . History is hysterical , as sheep are messy . We make a mess of everything , but God is always faithful , as we have been washed by the blood of Christ .

You know where you find your faith Right where you left it . It's there just waiting for you , and it always has been . Now I know about you , but I am so thankful for these stories . That , ironically , happened in the very first book of the Bible . He knew we make a mess of things , but he also knew he could make a message out of our mess .

Isn't that hysterical , sister ? I don't know where you are at , but I do know God does Turn to him today and turn over whatever burdens you decided to carry , they are not yours to carry . In fact , he said come to me all you who are weary and burdened , and I will give you rest , for my yoke is easy and my burden is life .

That is a word from him in Matthew 11 , verses 28 through 30 in the NIV . So , no matter how big the mess , our God is bigger and can clean it up . He is faithful . As we wrap up today's episode on being faithful , remember that no matter where you are on this journey , you're never alone .

Faith is the foundation we can stand on , even in our hardest moments . If today's message spoke to you and you are looking for more support , I invite you to join me and my friends at our it's a Single Mom Things classes , where we come together on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month to connect , grow and encourage one another .

For more information and inspiration on this , visit shepherdsvillagecom . Forward slash classes . We'd love for you to be a part of this community and if you need prayer or just someone to talk to , don't forget that our 24-hour prayer line is always available at 855-822-PRAY .

Reach out anytime , because sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is ask for a little help . So thank you for listening to today . Until next time , keep holding on to the faith . It's what's carrying you through . Have a wonderful week and remember it's a single mom thing and not the single thing that stops you . Thanks for listening to .

It's a Single Mom Thing . I hope you enjoyed our time together . If you have more questions on how to have a relationship with Jesus or need prayer , visit us at wwwshepherdsvillagecom . Backslash prayer . For more information and resources , check out our show notes .