“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Psalm 139:7-10 NIV
Whatever you are facing, God is with you.
He is there in the light and joyous seasons as well as the heavy and dark ones.
He is there when everything falls apart and there when everything comes together.
He is there when everything suddenly changes and is there when everything stays the same.
He is there.
With You.
Right Now.
And He will bring encouragement, strength, direction, and peace from the unchangeable depths of grace that you will never be able to exhaust.
Whatever you are facing, whatever is happening, whatever seems too big for you to handle, God is there and He is with you in the midst of it all. God is with you.
When you are in the middle of a fierce storm feeling out of control and tossed around, you may be asking Jesus, like His disciples did in Mark 4:38, “Do you even care that we are in this storm?”
The answer is yes, He cares.
Yes, He knows.
Yes, He can handle it.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
“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.
“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.”
Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.”
Hebrews 12:2 MSG
Jesus entered brokenness, was broken in it and then rose again to offer hope and wholeness to the world.
He didn’t lose sight of God’s future, He focused on it. He focused on you.
When you are overwhelmed with the difficulty before you – fix your eyes on Jesus.
He went through the unimaginable so that He could get you through the impossible.
“Friends, stay where you were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him at your side.”
1 Corinthians 7:24 MSG
Stay where God has called you to be.
If where you are is boring, stay there.
If where you are is overwhelming, stay there.
If where you are is fun, stay there.
If where you are is challenging, stay there.
He will give you the strength to withstand the monotony, wisdom to navigate the stress, clarity to get the most out of the fun and vision to conquer the challenge.
Look to God for your identity, your purpose, and the strength to live it out.
“Friends, stay where you were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him at your side.”
1 Corinthians 7:24 MSG
Stay where God has called you to be.
If where you are is boring, stay there.
If where you are is overwhelming, stay there.
If where you are is fun, stay there.
If where you are is challenging, stay there.
He will give you the strength to withstand the monotony, wisdom to navigate the stress, clarity to get the most out of the fun and vision to conquer the challenge.
Look to God for your identity, your purpose, and the strength to live it out.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.”
Luke 10:41 NIV
Being overwhelmed isn’t an emotion I like to have. There are always too many things to do and not enough time to do them.
The amazing thing about grace is that it immediately lifts the burden of “everything that should be done” and replaces it with the “one thing that needs to be done “.
What is that “one thing”?
It is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Begin there.
Drop your to-do list, close your eyes and take some time to sit with Jesus.
Being with Jesus does wonderful things to your priorities- it lines them right up.
“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
When you sit at the feet of Jesus, time stops and eternity enters.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.””
Luke 10:41 NIV
Being overwhelmed isn’t an emotion I like to have. There are always too many things to do and not enough time to do them. The amazing thing about grace is that it immediately lifts the burden of “everything that should be done” and replaces it with the “one thing that needs to be done “. What is that “one thing”? It is sitting at the feet of Jesus. Begin there.
Drop your to-do list, close your eyes and take some time to sit with Jesus.
Being with Jesus does wonderful things to your priorities- it lines them right up.
“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)
When you sit at the feet of Jesus, time stops and eternity enters.
Cindy Grasso 