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Speaker 1: Hey friends, it's Kelly from Life Audio. We just launched

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Speaker 1: something new. It's called The Good Word, our free weekly

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Speaker 1: newsletter built for people who want to go a little

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Speaker 1: deeper in their faith. Thank devotionals, guided prayers, curated podcasts, recommendations,

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Speaker 1: and a little community all in one place. No ads,

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Speaker 1: just good content. This one means a lot to us.

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Speaker 1: We built The Good Word based on the audience survey

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Speaker 1: so many of you filled out a few months back.

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Speaker 1: You told us what you wanted, and we listened. So

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Speaker 1: thank you truly for helping us shape this. Head to

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Speaker 1: the link in the show notes and join our community today.

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Speaker 1: We'd love to have.

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Speaker 2: You Life Audio.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture, a calming

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Speaker 3: scripture center devotional podcast designed to help you end each

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Speaker 3: day with God's word in your mind and on your heart.

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Speaker 3: Right after the short word from our sponsors, we will

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Speaker 3: reflect on tonight's scripture from Isaiah chapter forty. Tonight's reflection

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Speaker 3: is written by Amanda Idelman and read by Kyle Mormon.

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Speaker 3: Isaiah chapter forty, Comfort Comfort my People, says, your God

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Speaker 3: speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her

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Speaker 3: hard service is being completed. That her sin has been

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Speaker 3: paid for, that she is received from the Lord's hand

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Speaker 3: double for all her sins. A voice of one calling

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Speaker 3: in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make

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Speaker 3: straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every

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Speaker 3: valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low.

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Speaker 3: The rough ground shall be come level, the rugged places

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Speaker 3: a plane, And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

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Speaker 3: and all people will see it together. For the mouth

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Speaker 3: of the Lord has spoken. A voice cries out, cry out,

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Speaker 3: and I said, what shall I cry? All people are

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Speaker 3: like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers

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Speaker 3: in the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall

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Speaker 3: because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Truly,

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Speaker 3: the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall.

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Speaker 3: But the word of our God endures forever. You who

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Speaker 3: bring good news to Zion, go up to the high mountain,

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Speaker 3: You who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift up your

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Speaker 3: voice with a shout, Lift it up. Do not be afraid,

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Speaker 3: say to the towns of Judah, here is your God.

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Speaker 3: See the sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules

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Speaker 3: with a mighty arm. See his reward is with him,

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Speaker 3: and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like

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Speaker 3: a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms, and

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Speaker 3: he carries him close to his heart. He generally leads

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Speaker 3: those who are young. Who has measured the waters in

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Speaker 3: the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of

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Speaker 3: his hand marked off the heavens. Who was held the

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Speaker 3: dust of the earth in a basket, orway the mountains

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Speaker 3: of the scales on the hills in a balance. Who

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Speaker 3: can fathom the spirit of the Lord, or instruct the

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Speaker 3: Lord as his Counselor whom did the Lord consult to

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Speaker 3: enlighten him? Or who taught him the right way? Who

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Speaker 3: was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the

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Speaker 3: path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop

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Speaker 3: in the bucket. They are regarded as dust on the scales.

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Speaker 3: He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

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Speaker 3: Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fiers, nor its animals

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Speaker 3: enough for burnt off. Before him, all the nations are

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Speaker 3: as nothing. They are regarded by him as worthless and

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Speaker 3: less to nothing. With whom then, will you compare God

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Speaker 3: to what image? Will you like him? As for an idol,

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Speaker 3: a mental worker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it

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Speaker 3: with gold and fashioned silver chains for it. A person

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Speaker 3: too poor to present such an offering selects the wood

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Speaker 3: that will not rot. They look for a skilled worker

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Speaker 3: to set up an idle that will not topple. Do

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Speaker 3: you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not

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Speaker 3: been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood?

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Speaker 3: Since the earth was founded? He sits and throned above

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Speaker 3: the circle of the earth, and his people are like grasshoppers.

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Speaker 3: He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads

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Speaker 3: them out like a tent to live in. He brings

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Speaker 3: princes to naught, and he reduces the rulers of this

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Speaker 3: world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, No sooner

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Speaker 3: are they sown. No sooner do they take root in

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Speaker 3: the ground. And he blows on them, and they wither,

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Speaker 3: and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. To whom

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Speaker 3: will you compare me, or who is my equal? Says

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Speaker 3: the Holy One? Lift up your eyes and look to

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Speaker 3: the heavens who created all these, He who brings out

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Speaker 3: the starry host by one and calls forth each of

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Speaker 3: them by name, because of his great power and mighty strength.

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Speaker 3: Not one of them is missing. Why do you complain, Jacob,

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Speaker 3: Why do you say, Israel, my way is hidden from

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Speaker 3: the Lord, My cause is disregarded by my God. Do

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Speaker 3: you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is

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Speaker 3: the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.

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Speaker 3: He will not grow tired or weary. In his understanding

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Speaker 3: no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary

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Speaker 3: and increases the power of the week. Even you grow

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Speaker 3: tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But

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Speaker 3: those who hope, when the Lord will renew their strength,

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Speaker 3: they will soar on wings like eagles. They will run

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Speaker 3: and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.

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Speaker 3: Life is exhausting. Some circumstances can just knock the wind

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Speaker 3: out of us, slow us down to a crawl, steal

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Speaker 3: from us our joy. Heaviness in these moments seems to

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Speaker 3: rest on us like a dark cloud. I've walked through

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Speaker 3: many of these seasons as a foster parent. There has

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Speaker 3: been times when I just wanted nothing more than to

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Speaker 3: give up, to stop answering emails, to run away from

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Speaker 3: my child's needs, and to retreat to my own little world,

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Speaker 3: exhaustion to find my life, making it extremely difficult to

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Speaker 3: do more than the bare men to keep everyone alive.

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Speaker 3: I was not thriving. I was merely surviving. Maybe you've

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Speaker 3: been there too. What I can say with confidence on

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Speaker 3: the other side of some trying times is that God

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Speaker 3: never leaves us. Even in my most tired moments, I

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Speaker 3: knew I was not alone in the work that God

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Speaker 3: called me to do. I could go to Him and

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Speaker 3: pray the very raw, needy, exacerbated, and tired prayers. Every time.

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Speaker 3: God would hear me and remind me of his will

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Speaker 3: and his word promises like the ones in Isaiah forty

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Speaker 3: verse thirty one that declare that if I keep my

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Speaker 3: hope in the Lord, my strength will be renewed in

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Speaker 3: time through the power of the Holy Spirit. He would

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Speaker 3: carry me through this tough time and deliver me to

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Speaker 3: better days ahead. I knew if He did this for me,

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Speaker 3: he can do this for you. Take time to pause,

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Speaker 3: Say no to more hurried action in favor of slow

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Speaker 3: meditation on God's word, allowing it to encourage and empower

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Speaker 3: your soul. Spend time in God's presence. It's the place

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Speaker 3: we best find rest. Remember you can trust God in

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Speaker 3: every circumstance. He gives strength to the weary, and when

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Speaker 3: we are weak, he is strong. So cast your cares

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Speaker 3: on him and find the hope that you need to

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Speaker 3: keep moving forward. Father, I thank you that when I

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Speaker 3: am weak, you are strong. That You're promised to renew

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Speaker 3: my strength. When I am exhausted and feel that I

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Speaker 3: don't have enough strength that I need to keep going,

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Speaker 3: remind me to lift my eyes to the heavens to

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Speaker 3: see that God is greater than my problems. To remember

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Speaker 3: that He is the creator of heaven and earth, that

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Speaker 3: he can do more than I could ever ask or imagine.

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Speaker 3: Show me how to find rest in your presence. To

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Speaker 3: trust you through the hard, the long, the dark seasons

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Speaker 3: you are faithful to bring us through the valley by

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Speaker 3: your grace. Amen, how did Tonight's scripture speak to you?

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Speaker 3: Share your thoughts in the Your Nightly Scripture Forum discussion.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to Your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 2: was read from the New International version by Biblica. All

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Speaker 2: rights reserved. If Tonight's episode blessed you, be sure to

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Speaker 2: follow the show on Apple Podcasts so your next Nightly

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Speaker 2: Scripture is ready when you are. Your Nightly Scripture is

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Speaker 2: a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you

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Speaker 2: and we'll see you tomorrow.

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Speaker 3: Night