S5 Episode #3- Daniel Fusco
THE ONE WITH DANIEL FUSCO
This week I’m so very excited to bring you my conversation with author and pastor, Daniel Fusco! Daniel shares about his new book, You’re Gonna Make It: Unlocking Resilience When Life is a Mess, and we dive into the timely topics of finding hope in grief, fighting fear, coping with stress, and allowing Jesus to give us a fresh Kingdom perspective in the midst of hardship. I loved taking time at the beginning of the Advent season to reflect on the vulnerability of Jesus as He allowed Himself to be broken so that we could be healed and restored. You won’t want to miss this one!
A Little More About DANIEL
Daniel Fusco is an author, a church planter, and the lead pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Vancouver, Washington. His radio program, Jesus Is Real Radio, is broadcast across the country, and his TV show, Real with Daniel Fusco, airs across the globe. He also hosts the popular Crazy Happy with Daniel Fusco podcast and is the author of Crazy Happy, and You’re Gonna Make It. He has written numerous articles for CBN.com, PreachingToday.com, and Relevant. Fusco and his wife, Lynn, have three children and reside in southwest Washington.
LISTEN
READ
HOPE IN GRIEF
In our culture today we often want to move right from grief into “fix-it” mode. We don’t leave any space for lament. Sometimes the people around you may not understand what you’re walking through, but Jesus does. He knows every hair on your head and he cares about every thought and every tear. God is inviting you to look to Him.
We may not always understand the “why” of our suffering, but there is no waste in God’s kingdom. God is a God of redemption. Even when we don’t like the situation that we are in, or we can’t see the full picture, we can still say, “God, please bear fruit in my life and allow me to see your redemption on this side of eternity.”
God’s plan is to make us more like Jesus. When we start to see a small glimmer of what God is doing, we can say, “God, I don’t understand your ways, but I know that they are higher than mine… Just show me enough to see your hand in the land of the living.”
THE CHARACTER OF GOD
All the characteristics of God are bound up in His Son, Jesus. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-sufficient… and he also made himself the most vulnerable in becoming a baby.
God is not only majestic and holy, but he made himself vulnerable. This idea can be paradigm shifting. We often find great comfort in the powerful and majesty of God, but there is also great security to be found in his immense vulnerability. The Advent Season points us to this.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
God chose to make himself vulnerable for us. He saw that his creation was broken and in return he chose to break himself for us in the name of salvation, redemption and hope. It’s so life-giving! God’s ways are so profound and paradoxical, but it all comes together in the person of Jesus.
God allowed himself to be broken so that you could be healed and restored.
RESILIENCY
How do you value yourself? Culture tends to value us based on what we produce. Most things in life can boil down to an identity problem, but our value is not based on what I can produce. It is based only in the finished work of Jesus. When the world tells us we are worthless, Jesus says that we are of the highest value. We were so valued by Jesus that He gave His very life for us. When we are operating out of this truth, then the things we produce no longer define us.
The truest thing about anyone is who God says you are! When we feel like we are too far gone, God says that we are more than our worst days. You are more than your cumulation of mistakes. Your mistakes are not the end of the story. God is saying to you, “This may be where you are, but it’s not the end of the story. Let me do a work in you to bring you to places you’ve never been before.”
OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
Colossians 3:12
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
You are His beloved– the object of His affection. When God sees you with all of your brokenness, struggles, trials, issues, good days, bad days… God sees it all and still calls us beloved.
You are holy when you are in Christ. Holiness is the all-encompassing reality of God’s character and all the attributes of God are an aspect of His holiness. So if we are holy in Christ, then we are set apart by God. You are not common, you are set apart of a special purpose and plan!
You are elect. You are chosen. You were not forced upon God, He chose you because He wanted you!
WALKING IN YOUR IDENTITY– FIGHTING FEAR
In order to win the battle against fear, you have to fight the battle! You have to be in the fight. Fear is the response to uncertainty, but we are finite, so uncertainty is normal. This is a battle you have to fight every day. There will be new fears with each new day, but throughout the Scriptures, God is constantly reminding us not to fear. He knows that there is an unlimited amount of uncertainties, but the ONE THING that is certain is God. He promises to always be with us and always be working for the good of His kingdom. He already knows the future, He is already there, and He has a good plan.
The security that we long for is NOT in our understanding of the future, our security is truly in God and His love. He has given us His Spirit to seal us and remind us of His covenant.
WALKING IN YOUR IDENTITY– STRESS
“Expectations ruin relationships.” Most expectations are not verbalized and they are not agreed upon. We often have expectations that were not expressed, so we are constantly feeling let down. We live in a day and age that has created an expectation that our lives will be good when there is no stress. However, stress is a part of life– it’s inevitable. It’s your body’s response to uncertainty.
The belief that your life will be perfect once it is “stress-free” is an expectation that is ruining your relationship with your own life. Jesus never once says, “follow me and you will have a stress-free life.”
When you feel stress, that is an invitation from Jesus to draw closer to Him. And invitation for more of an abundant life, for more revelation, for more of Him.
Psalm 63
“When my body is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
Stress is your body telling you that you need to draw closer to Jesus. Lean in, Jesus is your strong tower.
God will give us more that WE can handle, but He will never give us more that HE can handle.
Working out is putting your body under stress so that you can grow. When we are under stress in life, and we respond Biblically, then the stress becomes a profound growth engine.
Ask the Lord to help you reframe your situation to see it from His perspective. We are just passing through in this life, so finding resilience is about seeing things from a Heavenly perspective about what will last in eternity.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Hebrews 12:2
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Resilience Equation:
Hope + Grit= Unstoppable Resilience
Placing our hope in Jesus and knowing that He has the victory.
Grit is doing the right things in the right ways for the right reasons, no matter the outcome. This is how we build character and end this life more like Jesus.
Hold onto the God of all hope and continue to do the right things in the right way for the right reasons. In the end we will join Jesus in His glorification!
WATCH
Thank you, as always, for listening! Please remember that everything we do is funded by those who benefit from our ministry. Our ministry a 501(c)3, so your contribution is tax-deductible.
Our events are centered on worship, restorative creativity, and designated time for reflection, evaluation, and setting intentions.
We help you provide a safe environment for your community to practice low-stakes creative risk-taking that will spur them in their gifting + step further into their calling. Leaders will rise up, ministries and businesses will be born, and all will find a new connection with their true identity.
Imagine what a whole community of Believers who
know who they are in Christ + understand their purpose as Kingdom cultivators can do!
Email us at info@collectedministries.org to book your own Collected Workshop or Retreat today!
CHECK THIS OUT:
The Collected Podcast is a production of Collected Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disciples of Jesus discover and live from their true identity in Christ, recognize and walk in their divine purpose within the Kingdom of God, and experience growth in their capacity for mature, healthy relationships.
Follow us!
Jes Biondo: @jesbiondo
Jes’ Hand Lettering: @sprezzafoundry
Charitable partner: @flourishkenya
The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes Biondo and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.