September 12, 2025 • 16 mins
In Episode 10, Sarita delves into themes of emotional honesty, family dynamics, and the importance of God's grace in their lives. They discuss the importance of expressing true feelings rather than masking them with performative positivity, particularly in familial relationships. The conversation also delves into the biblical story of Nehemiah, illustrating how grace empowers individuals to fulfill their God-given assignments and navigate challenges with strength and support.
Takeaways:
- Emotional honesty is crucial in relationships, especially within families.
- Performative positivity can hinder genuine communication.
- Understanding the context of someone's feelings is essential.
- Parenting requires grace and adaptability as children grow.
- God's grace is not just for salvation but also for empowerment.
- Nehemiah's story exemplifies leadership and reliance on God's grace.
- Grace allows us to accomplish tasks we cannot do alone.
- There is joy in recognizing and relying on God's grace in our lives.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Introduction (00:03):
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful servant of
the Lord, Sarita Bernadette.Each week, Sarita shares
heartfelt messages rooted in theword of God, filled with wisdom,
(00:25):
joy, and the gentle reminderthat God cares deeply for you.
Whether you're walking throughthe valleys or dancing on the
mountaintops, Sarita's voicewill guide you back to his
promises step by step. So openyour heart, settle your spirit,
and take the next step in faithwith Joy in Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette (00:50):
Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. In the last episode, webegan looking at the grace of
God. We talked about how Godsees us through the sacrifice of
his only son. That sacrifice wasmade for us on the cross.
(01:14):
That was God's saving grace atwork. The saving grace allowed
us to be redeemed and broughtback into a right relationship
with God. Paul reminded us ofthis in Ephesians two:
eight-nine, For by grace youhave been saved through faith,
(01:35):
and this is not your own doingit is the gift of God, not the
result of works, so that no onemay boast. Grace is God's
unmerited favor. Remember theGreek word, karis, favor,
kindness, and blessing.
(01:55):
So last week, we zeroed in onPaul's story in the New
Testament. You'll recall, again,Paul is the apostle who wrote at
least 13 books of the NewTestament. His letters, or
epistles as they are known, haveserved to teach, inform, and
(02:15):
inspire so many believers downthrough the years. Paul
completed his mission. It washard, but he was able to do it.
That was also grace. The graceof God was on Paul's life. You
see, the grace of God enables usto do the things God has created
(02:39):
us to do. God graces us tofulfill our assignments here on
earth. I believe these twoscriptures are instrumental in
understanding this.
By the way, both were authoredby the Apostle Paul. Here they
are. First Corinthians fifteenten, But by the grace of God, I
(03:01):
am what I am, and his gracetoward me has not been in vain.
On the contrary, I worked harderthan any of them, though it was
not I, but the grace of God thatis with me. Let's read that in
The Message translation (03:19):
But because God was so gracious, so
very generous, here I am.
And I'm not about to let hisgrace go to waste. Haven't I
worked hard trying to do morethan any of the others? Even
then, my work didn't amount toall that much. It was God giving
(03:44):
me the work to do, God giving methe energy to do it. Then
there's the familiar Philippiansfour thirteen, I can do all
things through him whostrengthens me.
The Living Bible puts it thisway, For I can do everything God
asked me to do with the help ofChrist who gives me the strength
(04:07):
and power. Those two scriptureshighlight the fact that the
grace of God is with us, he'sgracious, He is the one giving
us the work to do and the energyto do it. And finally, we can do
everything he asks of us when wedepend upon him for strength and
(04:30):
for power. Now, I'll just bet,as I read through that short
list, you nodded your head inagreement. You might even recall
a time when God's grace enabledyou to accomplish something big.
Enabling grace is what we callthe power God gives us to do
(04:51):
what we could never do on ourown. This is God's favor,
kindness, and blessing. It's onus as we go about doing the work
that he has charged us to do.Those of us who are parents
depend upon this enabling gracedaily. When our children are
(05:11):
young, we need grace tounderstand and meet their needs
as they grow and develop.
Each stage is different and eachchild is different, right?
Without God's favor, kindness,and blessing, we wouldn't be
able to do an effective job. Andnews flash, the job doesn't end
(05:35):
when they become adults. They'llalways be our children and we
still need grace to parent themeven at that stage. In our
careers or vocations, weprobably call on God for grace
as well, maybe even daily,right?
You need the grace of God tocomplete that list of tasks on
(05:59):
the calendar. And often, thatjob description that you signed
on for has changed over time.And if we're being honest, it
continues to expand and evolve,right? There are times in our
lives when we're charged withdoing something new, something
(06:20):
new for us, something we haven'tdone before, or perhaps even
creating something from theground up, actually building
something. When we findourselves in a position of that
nature, the task can seemdaunting.
You certainly need God's graceand his mercy for an assignment
(06:41):
like that. The steadfast love ofthe Lord never ceases. His
mercies never come to an end.They are new every morning.
Great is your faithfulness.
This scripture from the thirdchapter of Lamentations takes on
(07:01):
a whole new meaning once werealize how much we need his
grace. So, grace isn't justforgiveness, it's fortification.
Think about it. God's grace doesindeed save us. But then it goes
on to do even more.
(07:22):
It fortifies us. Fortificationis a means of defense or
reinforcement built tostrengthen against attack. In
the word of God, fortificationssymbolize or represent spiritual
strength and divine protection.God himself acts as the fortress
(07:45):
for us as believers. He providesus with refuge and safety from
spiritual onslaughts andadversity.
Has anyone ever built one ofthose forts as a child? I know I
did and so did my son. He'd grabevery pillow and blanket within
(08:06):
reach and erect this huge fort.Then he'd wall himself in and
read and read and read behindthe coziness and protection of
that place. Speaking offortification and God's enabling
grace, there's this great storyin the Bible about a man named
(08:28):
Nehemiah.
Some of you are familiar withNehemiah. This story is so full
of symbolism and inspiration. Ican't possibly do it justice in
this brief amount of time, butwe're going to get what we need
today. This accounting is foundin the book of Nehemiah,
beginning in the first chapter.In chapter one, Nehemiah, a
(08:52):
Jewish leader and prophet whoserved as the cup bearer in the
court of King Artaxerxes aroundApril, he inquires about the
Jews who had gone back toJerusalem after being exiled in
Babylon, and he gets some newsthat saddens him.
(09:15):
He's saddened by the news thatthings weren't going well there
and that the wall of Jerusalemwas still down and the gates had
even been burned. So the Lordplaced a burden on his heart,
and Nehemiah began to fast andto pray. He worshiped, cried,
(09:39):
and he tells the Lord that hewants forgiveness for the people
of Israel. He asked the Lord toforgive them. He goes on to
remind God of his promise to hispeople.
And that promise was conditionedon the nation of Israel
repenting and obeying the Lord'scommands. So he asked for favor.
(10:03):
He asked for forgiveness and heasked for favor. He asked for
grace. He asked for grace whenhe goes before the king.
Nehemiah knew it was going totake God's grace and favor to
accomplish this mission thathe'd laid on his heart. Four
months go by and finallyNehemiah goes before the king.
(10:27):
Ephesians two ten reads, andthis is The Message version, For
we are what he has made us,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand so that we may walk
in them. Listen, beloved, Godhas already prepared the good
(10:48):
things, the assignments, themissions that we are to carry
out. Grace has already gonebefore us.
So in chapter two, whileNehemiah was serving the king,
the king asked him, Why so sad?What is it that you need? That
was grace. The Lord had alreadyprepared the king's heart.
(11:12):
Nehemiah said a quick prayer andthen he asked the king for favor
and permission to go to Judah torebuild the wall.
He even took it a step furtherand asked the king to send a
word ahead of him to make iteasier for him to travel and to
make the supplies he neededavailable to him. The king
(11:36):
granted the requests andNehemiah set off on his mission.
Now, when Nehemiah arrivedon-site, he quietly went about
his mission with the army,officers, and all the troops
that the king had sent along toprotect him. Fortification. I
(11:58):
guarantee you, when you say yes,God will go over and above what
you request.
God will protect his plans.Nehemiah examined the wall and
determined it was indeed inruins. But all was well. With
(12:18):
God in charge, he knew themission couldn't be stopped.
Take a lesson there, beloved.
God's grace takes care of allthe details. Nehemiah informed
the city officials of his plansand they agreed to get to work.
Just like that, Nehemiah hadhelp. Beloved, don't be afraid
(12:40):
to ask for help. There arepeople waiting to join you on
the mission God has given you.
So, the people began workingtogether. When the naysayers
showed up, he told them to mindtheir business. Chapter three of
Nehemiah explains in detail howhe doled out responsibilities
(13:05):
among the Jewish people. Thevarious families had their own
assignments and their own tasksalong the wall and in the ruins.
Nehemiah surrounded himself withlike minded people who were
willing to work.
Grace. When confronted withopposition, Nehemiah remained
(13:29):
dedicated and focused. When wordof an attack came, Nehemiah
protected the project byassigning half the people to
work while the other half stoodguard. God even gave Nehemiah an
additional strategy thatinvolved sounding a trumpet
whenever their enemiesthreatened to attack. Nehemiah
(13:53):
four seventeen-nineteen.
And the masons and laborersworked with weapons within easy
reach beside them or with swordsbelted to their sides. The
trumpeter stayed with me tosound the alarm. The work is so
(14:13):
spread out, I explained to them,and we are separated so widely
from each other that when youhear the trumpet blow, you must
rush to where I am, and God willfight for us. God allows us to
listen for strategy, and he willkeep us abreast of all we need
(14:35):
to know. Our job is to watch,pray, and work the assignment.
At one point, Nehemiah foundhimself in the middle of some
unfair financial practices. Godgave him the grace to handle the
matter, and he went right backto work on that wall. When yet
(14:58):
again, Nehemiah was facingvarious plots and threats from
his enemies in the region, herefused to run and hide. He
prayed and asked God to keep aneye on his enemies. Take another
lesson, beloved.
Nehemiah and the peoplecontinued the work and soon, in
(15:18):
just fifty two days, the wallwas completed. He stated that he
did it without taking anypayment at all. He documented
how God provided for the peopleand the workers during the
project and for the entiretwelve year period that he
served as governor there inJudah. Grace. I'll share this
(15:45):
scripture again.
First Corinthians fifteen ten,and this is the Passion
translation (15:51):
But God's amazing grace has made me who I am, and
his grace to me was notfruitless. In fact, I worked
harder than all the rest, yetnot in my own strength, but
God's. From his empoweringgrace, for his empowering grace
(16:13):
is poured out upon me. Friends,there is joy in knowing God's
grace will enable us to do whathe has called us to do. You've
been listening to Joy in EveryStep.
I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'mgrateful you chose to spend some
(16:34):
time here with me. You can findJoy in Every Step wherever you
listen to your podcasts andplease give us a follow there.
Check out our website atjoyineverystep.org.
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful servant of
the Lord, Sarita Bernadette.Each week, Sarita shares
heartfelt messages rooted in theword of God, filled with wisdom,
(00:25):
joy, and the gentle reminderthat God cares deeply for you.
Whether you're walking throughthe valleys or dancing on the
mountaintops, Sarita's voicewill guide you back to his
promises step by step. So openyour heart, settle your spirit,
and take the next step in faithwith Joy in Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette (00:50):
Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. In the last episode, webegan looking at the grace of
God. We talked about how Godsees us through the sacrifice of
his only son. That sacrifice wasmade for us on the cross.
(01:14):
That was God's saving grace atwork. The saving grace allowed
us to be redeemed and broughtback into a right relationship
with God. Paul reminded us ofthis in Ephesians two:
eight-nine, For by grace youhave been saved through faith,
(01:35):
and this is not your own doingit is the gift of God, not the
result of works, so that no onemay boast. Grace is God's
unmerited favor. Remember theGreek word, karis, favor,
kindness, and blessing.
(01:55):
So last week, we zeroed in onPaul's story in the New
Testament. You'll recall, again,Paul is the apostle who wrote at
least 13 books of the NewTestament. His letters, or
epistles as they are known, haveserved to teach, inform, and
(02:15):
inspire so many believers downthrough the years. Paul
completed his mission. It washard, but he was able to do it.
That was also grace. The graceof God was on Paul's life. You
see, the grace of God enables usto do the things God has created
(02:39):
us to do. God graces us tofulfill our assignments here on
earth. I believe these twoscriptures are instrumental in
understanding this.
By the way, both were authoredby the Apostle Paul. Here they
are. First Corinthians fifteenten, But by the grace of God, I
(03:01):
am what I am, and his gracetoward me has not been in vain.
On the contrary, I worked harderthan any of them, though it was
not I, but the grace of God thatis with me. Let's read that in
The Message translation (03:19):
But because God was so gracious, so
very generous, here I am.
And I'm not about to let hisgrace go to waste. Haven't I
worked hard trying to do morethan any of the others? Even
then, my work didn't amount toall that much. It was God giving
(03:44):
me the work to do, God giving methe energy to do it. Then
there's the familiar Philippiansfour thirteen, I can do all
things through him whostrengthens me.
The Living Bible puts it thisway, For I can do everything God
asked me to do with the help ofChrist who gives me the strength
(04:07):
and power. Those two scriptureshighlight the fact that the
grace of God is with us, he'sgracious, He is the one giving
us the work to do and the energyto do it. And finally, we can do
everything he asks of us when wedepend upon him for strength and
(04:30):
for power. Now, I'll just bet,as I read through that short
list, you nodded your head inagreement. You might even recall
a time when God's grace enabledyou to accomplish something big.
Enabling grace is what we callthe power God gives us to do
(04:51):
what we could never do on ourown. This is God's favor,
kindness, and blessing. It's onus as we go about doing the work
that he has charged us to do.Those of us who are parents
depend upon this enabling gracedaily. When our children are
(05:11):
young, we need grace tounderstand and meet their needs
as they grow and develop.
Each stage is different and eachchild is different, right?
Without God's favor, kindness,and blessing, we wouldn't be
able to do an effective job. Andnews flash, the job doesn't end
(05:35):
when they become adults. They'llalways be our children and we
still need grace to parent themeven at that stage. In our
careers or vocations, weprobably call on God for grace
as well, maybe even daily,right?
You need the grace of God tocomplete that list of tasks on
(05:59):
the calendar. And often, thatjob description that you signed
on for has changed over time.And if we're being honest, it
continues to expand and evolve,right? There are times in our
lives when we're charged withdoing something new, something
(06:20):
new for us, something we haven'tdone before, or perhaps even
creating something from theground up, actually building
something. When we findourselves in a position of that
nature, the task can seemdaunting.
You certainly need God's graceand his mercy for an assignment
(06:41):
like that. The steadfast love ofthe Lord never ceases. His
mercies never come to an end.They are new every morning.
Great is your faithfulness.
This scripture from the thirdchapter of Lamentations takes on
(07:01):
a whole new meaning once werealize how much we need his
grace. So, grace isn't justforgiveness, it's fortification.
Think about it. God's grace doesindeed save us. But then it goes
on to do even more.
(07:22):
It fortifies us. Fortificationis a means of defense or
reinforcement built tostrengthen against attack. In
the word of God, fortificationssymbolize or represent spiritual
strength and divine protection.God himself acts as the fortress
(07:45):
for us as believers. He providesus with refuge and safety from
spiritual onslaughts andadversity.
Has anyone ever built one ofthose forts as a child? I know I
did and so did my son. He'd grabevery pillow and blanket within
(08:06):
reach and erect this huge fort.Then he'd wall himself in and
read and read and read behindthe coziness and protection of
that place. Speaking offortification and God's enabling
grace, there's this great storyin the Bible about a man named
(08:28):
Nehemiah.
Some of you are familiar withNehemiah. This story is so full
of symbolism and inspiration. Ican't possibly do it justice in
this brief amount of time, butwe're going to get what we need
today. This accounting is foundin the book of Nehemiah,
beginning in the first chapter.In chapter one, Nehemiah, a
(08:52):
Jewish leader and prophet whoserved as the cup bearer in the
court of King Artaxerxes aroundApril, he inquires about the
Jews who had gone back toJerusalem after being exiled in
Babylon, and he gets some newsthat saddens him.
(09:15):
He's saddened by the news thatthings weren't going well there
and that the wall of Jerusalemwas still down and the gates had
even been burned. So the Lordplaced a burden on his heart,
and Nehemiah began to fast andto pray. He worshiped, cried,
(09:39):
and he tells the Lord that hewants forgiveness for the people
of Israel. He asked the Lord toforgive them. He goes on to
remind God of his promise to hispeople.
And that promise was conditionedon the nation of Israel
repenting and obeying the Lord'scommands. So he asked for favor.
(10:03):
He asked for forgiveness and heasked for favor. He asked for
grace. He asked for grace whenhe goes before the king.
Nehemiah knew it was going totake God's grace and favor to
accomplish this mission thathe'd laid on his heart. Four
months go by and finallyNehemiah goes before the king.
(10:27):
Ephesians two ten reads, andthis is The Message version, For
we are what he has made us,created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God preparedbeforehand so that we may walk
in them. Listen, beloved, Godhas already prepared the good
(10:48):
things, the assignments, themissions that we are to carry
out. Grace has already gonebefore us.
So in chapter two, whileNehemiah was serving the king,
the king asked him, Why so sad?What is it that you need? That
was grace. The Lord had alreadyprepared the king's heart.
(11:12):
Nehemiah said a quick prayer andthen he asked the king for favor
and permission to go to Judah torebuild the wall.
He even took it a step furtherand asked the king to send a
word ahead of him to make iteasier for him to travel and to
make the supplies he neededavailable to him. The king
(11:36):
granted the requests andNehemiah set off on his mission.
Now, when Nehemiah arrivedon-site, he quietly went about
his mission with the army,officers, and all the troops
that the king had sent along toprotect him. Fortification. I
(11:58):
guarantee you, when you say yes,God will go over and above what
you request.
God will protect his plans.Nehemiah examined the wall and
determined it was indeed inruins. But all was well. With
(12:18):
God in charge, he knew themission couldn't be stopped.
Take a lesson there, beloved.
God's grace takes care of allthe details. Nehemiah informed
the city officials of his plansand they agreed to get to work.
Just like that, Nehemiah hadhelp. Beloved, don't be afraid
(12:40):
to ask for help. There arepeople waiting to join you on
the mission God has given you.
So, the people began workingtogether. When the naysayers
showed up, he told them to mindtheir business. Chapter three of
Nehemiah explains in detail howhe doled out responsibilities
(13:05):
among the Jewish people. Thevarious families had their own
assignments and their own tasksalong the wall and in the ruins.
Nehemiah surrounded himself withlike minded people who were
willing to work.
Grace. When confronted withopposition, Nehemiah remained
(13:29):
dedicated and focused. When wordof an attack came, Nehemiah
protected the project byassigning half the people to
work while the other half stoodguard. God even gave Nehemiah an
additional strategy thatinvolved sounding a trumpet
whenever their enemiesthreatened to attack. Nehemiah
(13:53):
four seventeen-nineteen.
And the masons and laborersworked with weapons within easy
reach beside them or with swordsbelted to their sides. The
trumpeter stayed with me tosound the alarm. The work is so
(14:13):
spread out, I explained to them,and we are separated so widely
from each other that when youhear the trumpet blow, you must
rush to where I am, and God willfight for us. God allows us to
listen for strategy, and he willkeep us abreast of all we need
(14:35):
to know. Our job is to watch,pray, and work the assignment.
At one point, Nehemiah foundhimself in the middle of some
unfair financial practices. Godgave him the grace to handle the
matter, and he went right backto work on that wall. When yet
(14:58):
again, Nehemiah was facingvarious plots and threats from
his enemies in the region, herefused to run and hide. He
prayed and asked God to keep aneye on his enemies. Take another
lesson, beloved.
Nehemiah and the peoplecontinued the work and soon, in
(15:18):
just fifty two days, the wallwas completed. He stated that he
did it without taking anypayment at all. He documented
how God provided for the peopleand the workers during the
project and for the entiretwelve year period that he
served as governor there inJudah. Grace. I'll share this
(15:45):
scripture again.
First Corinthians fifteen ten,and this is the Passion
translation (15:51):
But God's amazing grace has made me who I am, and
his grace to me was notfruitless. In fact, I worked
harder than all the rest, yetnot in my own strength, but
God's. From his empoweringgrace, for his empowering grace
(16:13):
is poured out upon me. Friends,there is joy in knowing God's
grace will enable us to do whathe has called us to do. You've
been listening to Joy in EveryStep.
I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'mgrateful you chose to spend some
(16:34):
time here with me. You can findJoy in Every Step wherever you
listen to your podcasts andplease give us a follow there.
Check out our website atjoyineverystep.org.
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