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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional.

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Speaker 2: We're glad to have you listening with us. Today's topic

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Speaker 2: is about returning and rest. We'll return with the devotion

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Speaker 2: after a brief message from our sponsors. God is not

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Speaker 2: rushing you, written and read by Sarah Frasier. For thus

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Speaker 2: says the Lord, God, the Holy One of Israel. In

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Speaker 2: returning and rest, you shall be saved in quietness, and

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Speaker 2: in trust shall be your strength. Therefore, the Lord waits

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Speaker 2: to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself

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Speaker 2: to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a

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Speaker 2: god of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him.

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Speaker 2: Isaiah thirty, verses fifteen and eighteen. My daughter doesn't like

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Speaker 2: to be rushed, and in so many ways I am

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Speaker 2: the same. When planning things, I always give myself extra time.

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Speaker 2: American culture is one that is governed by time. Events

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Speaker 2: start on time, and we complain if we are made

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Speaker 2: to wait.

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Speaker 1: It is easy to fall into.

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Speaker 2: The mindset of rushing when we are being dictated by

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Speaker 2: the clock. Rarely do people have time to rest, be quiet,

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Speaker 2: and wait.

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Speaker 1: Me included.

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Speaker 2: My days are often packed with endless activities and to

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Speaker 2: do list for so long. If I didn't do anything

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Speaker 2: on a particular day, that day felt unproductive. My to

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Speaker 2: do list can be like a taskmaster running my day

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Speaker 2: to day life. Somewhere along the way, I started to

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Speaker 2: believe that a full schedule meant a faithful life, and

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Speaker 2: that slowing down meant I was falling behind. In Isaiah

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Speaker 2: thirty one, we read the words in repentance and rest

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Speaker 2: is your salvation, and quietness and trust is your strength.

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Speaker 2: God's people, the Israelites had been running away from God,

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Speaker 2: not toward him. They were about to be attacked by

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Speaker 2: their enemies, but instead of going to God, they turned

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Speaker 2: to other allies. They tried to fix things on their own. Isaiah,

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Speaker 2: the prophet spoke from God to tell the people that

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Speaker 2: rescue would come a different way. It would come through

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Speaker 2: returning to God resting. This is counterintuitive, isn't it. We

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Speaker 2: often think the opposite. The way out of trouble is

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Speaker 2: to run, move, and act. God, though, wasn't asking for

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Speaker 2: more effort for them to return to Him. While they

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Speaker 2: were rushing to solve their problems, God was inviting them

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Speaker 2: to be still. You and I are the same. We

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Speaker 2: rush to fix problems, stay productive and make sure we

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Speaker 2: don't let anything fall through the cracks. How often do

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Speaker 2: we believe that faithfulness is the same as being busy?

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Speaker 2: For so long I believed that my purpose in life,

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Speaker 2: why God loved me and what God wanted from me,

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Speaker 2: was to be productive. But faithfulness isn't about that at all. Friend,

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Speaker 2: God invites us to return to him.

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Speaker 1: How do we do this? Begin with sitting with God.

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Speaker 1: That's right.

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Speaker 2: Stop at some point in your day each day to

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Speaker 2: just sit and be with God. Don't scroll, don't move,

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Speaker 2: just be still. Time in God's presence is not wasted.

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Speaker 2: It is where our souls are restored. While you're sitting there,

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Speaker 2: learn the value of not talking, thinking, or worrying during

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Speaker 2: that time. Use a few minutes to be in His word.

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Speaker 2: Don't rush through a reading of the Bible, but linger

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Speaker 2: with it. Listen to God's voice as you read the words,

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Speaker 2: or listen to audio as you do. Let your heart

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Speaker 2: naturally speak to God in prayer. Start a conversation with God.

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Speaker 2: Maybe it will be about what you need, or maybe

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Speaker 2: about what you read, but mostly it can be about

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Speaker 2: what is on your heart. Embrace the quietness. If possible.

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Speaker 2: God is not asking you to do more. He is

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Speaker 2: inviting you to be with him. Those moments, whether they

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Speaker 2: are thirty minutes or three minutes, can make us such

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Speaker 2: a difference in our day. Many of us are tired,

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Speaker 2: not because we're doing too little, but be because we're

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Speaker 2: carrying what God never asked us to carry. Jesus says

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Speaker 2: in Matthew eleven twenty eight through thirty. Come to me,

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Speaker 2: all you who are weary and burdened, and I will

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Speaker 2: give you rest. God is not hurrying us along. He

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Speaker 2: is gently inviting us to return to rest and to

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Speaker 2: trust Him right where we are. As we learn to

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Speaker 2: slow our heart today, may we learn how to step

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Speaker 2: out of the rush and into his presence. God can

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Speaker 2: teach us to trust Him in the quiet places. This stopping,

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Speaker 2: even for a moment, means we don't have to strive.

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Speaker 1: God is already near.

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Speaker 2: Intersecting faith in life, Jesus was never hurried, rushed, or

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Speaker 2: needed to prove his worth by his productivity.

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Speaker 1: You don't either.

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Speaker 2: As you start your day, remember to slow down and

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Speaker 2: spend a few months and that's in prayer. Ask God

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Speaker 2: to help you have strength for the day. In the

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Speaker 2: dark at night, lift your heart to God.

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Speaker 1: Again, asking him for peace. As you sleep.

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Speaker 2: Where in your life do you feel the most rushed

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Speaker 2: right now and what would it look like to intentionally

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Speaker 2: slow down and invite God into that space. Additional reading

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Speaker 2: Psalm forty six, Luke ten thirty nine through forty two,

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Speaker 2: Mark six thirty one, Matthew eleven, twenty eight to thirty.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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Speaker 1: you heard today, we want to make sure you know

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