Cindy Grasso is an author and speaker who is passionate about helping women discover who God created them to be. She is the Women's Pastor at Cape Christian and started the Beloved Women's Movement there in 2016. She lives in Cape Coral, Florida with her husband of 28 years and two sons. She loves to read, write and help women see themselves in the light of God's amazing love that brings freedom and wholeness to all.
“Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” Colossians 3:17, The Message Version
It’s the small things.
The little moments of mundaneness.
Little packages of wonder filled with gratefulness that come to us through what Jesus has done for us.
He brought the good news of heaven into lives of all who live on earth: you are loved, precious, valuable and through His sacrifice for you, reconciled to God.
That means that you can do a cannonball into the ocean of God’s love for you every day, in every way, down to the details of your life.
Dive in deep into His all encompassing love for you and allow this great love to drench what you say, what you do and overflow onto others.
“Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” Phillpians 4:6-8 The Message Version
How do you survive in a world that is pulling on you in all directions?
There is so much to know, too much to know.
Knowing everything that is going on in the world is overwhelming and undermining at the same time.
It is overwhelming because we are finite beings who are limited to one place at one time.
It is undermining because it erodes hope and breeds fear giving birth to an epidemic of anxiety.
How do we survive?
We choose to withdraw in the grace filled arms of God before we look into the lens of world.
We step into a shower of worship and allow God to saturate us with His presence before we step onto the sidewalk of humanity.
We go to Him without fear of judgement or censure.
We speak to Him about what is really going on in our hearts and hold nothing back.
We aim our thoughts on the target of that which is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind.
Not to ignore what is happening in the world around us but to be free to see it through the perspective of something bigger, someone bigger, someone who spoke it into existence, walked among it, died for it and is redeeming it one life at a time.
Someone who is a Savior and the only One who can save it.
God is still doing glorious work in you and in me.
I am overwhelmed by it.
Which is so much better than being overwhelmed by everything else.
That is why we need to take a break from over thinking.
That is why we need to take a break from fear.
Take a holiday from doubt.
Take a permanent vacation from unbelief.
Forget it all and make space to remember who you are in God and who God is in you.
You are God’s child redeemed by the blood of Jesus, embraced within the Father’s heart and filled with the Spirit of love, power and a sound mind for all that you will face.
Hebrews 4:11 says, “So then we must be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.” (TPT)
Break away from stress today and take as much time as you need to rest in the truth that you are loved.
When your To-Do List is too long and you are overwhelmed, lay it down.
Get away, get out and get renewed.
With Jesus.
So you can be reminded that He is God and you are not.
So you can be reminded that the world keeps turning because He IS.
So you can learn to live in the unforced rhythms of grace instead of the anarchy of urgency.
So you can live free and rested in His love.
Jesus said, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” MATTHEW 11:28-30 MSG
The observance of taking a day off of work was established from the beginning.
And God was the first one to rest.
He created the world and all that was in it.
The air we breath, the bodies we inhabit, the wonder of the natural world.
Then He took a day.
He rested and celebrated.
He appreciated and enjoyed.
He called it Sabbath and told humans to do it once a week with Him.
Take a day, once a week to rest, celebrate, appreciate and enjoy this beautiful life with God.
You will be surprised at how much you need it.
You need it.
It is an offer that still stands and because of Jesus it is available to all who need a spiritual rest as well as a physical one.
Hebrews 4:9 says that “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;for anyone who enters God’s rest also restsfrom their works, just as God did from his.” (NIV)
Take a day, maybe this day, and let it revive your soul.
They distract you from living loved and loving fearlessly.
If it is something within your power to change, ask Jesus to give you the courage to change it.
If it is something out of your control, something you have no power to change, ask Jesus to meet you in the place of your fear and give you the power to release it to Him.
Jesus is bigger than your fear and able to provide what you need.
May a small worry be transformed into a powerful moment to release and trust in the One who holds the universe (and you) in the palm of His hand.
Jesus said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25, 26 NIV)
“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” Proverbs 17:3 NIV
A crucible is used to melt the silver and gold so the impurities of the precious metal will rise to the top.
When it does, the refiner will skim it off.
It is the same with your heart.
The Great Refiner can use the fires of life to expose things that don’t belong there.
In His kindness, He will bring them to the surface to clear them away.
When He brings it to the surface, it means that you are ready to deal with it.
Your job is to stay in His hand, deal with what comes up (which almost always begins by forgiving yourself or others) and allow the healing balm of His love to make you new.
“Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.” Psalm 119:116 NIV
There was a time a few years ago when I was discouraged and heartbroken.
I didn’t know how we were going to make it.
We were living in Las Vegas and our neighborhood edged the Red Rock desert.
One morning I got up early and took a walk.
With worship music loaded on my iPod, I set out to pray and breathe in the presence of God.
The sun was just rising over Red Rock Canyon and it was so beautiful that I almost dropped to my knees. As I turned the corner out of my neighborhood and onto the desert road behind it, the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” began.
I heard God’s whisper in my heart, “Hold on. Your hopes are not lost. I am faithful to complete what I have started in you. I will sustain you through this and strengthen you in it. My faithfulness knows no end.”
It was a turning point for me.
I carried that promise through a time that got harder long before it got better.
Hold on, my friend, your hopes are not lost.
Jesus is faithful to complete what He started in you.
Cindy Grasso 