1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily 2 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day 3 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,440 Speaker 1: to learn more about God than as will for us. 4 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Carol McCracken. After this short word from 5 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: our sponsor, we'll dive into today's Bible Verse Psalm one 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: sixty three. If you've ever been caught off guard by gratitude, 7 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: not because something dramatic happened, but because you suddenly realized 8 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: what didn't have to be today's versus for you. I 9 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: had just returned home after a simple date night with 10 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: my husband, nothing extravagant, no big celebration, just dinner, conversation 11 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: and laughter, the kind that comes easily when you've known 12 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: someone a long time. As I walked through the door 13 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 1: and set my things down, I noticed something small but unexpected. 14 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: I can still smell the faint whiff of this after 15 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: shape on me from the hug, and it stopped me. 16 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: Not because it was romantic in a movie scene way, 17 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: but because of what that moment had represented. It wasn't 18 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: just that we had a fun night. It was the 19 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: awareness of it, the appreciation of the moment, And that 20 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: kind of awareness doesn't come naturally. It comes through redemption. 21 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: And here's why, after twenty six years of marriage, my 22 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: husband and I divorced. Neither of us believes in divorce. 23 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: And yes there were real reasons, painful ones, complicated ones. 24 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: That part of the story matters, but it isn't today's focus. 25 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: What matters is this. For about a decade that marriage 26 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: was over, and then slowly, unexpectedly, God, God did something 27 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: neither of us could have orchestrated. We remarried. So moments 28 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: like that, quiet, ordinary, almost forgettable moments feel especially sacred 29 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: when you know what God is restored. And that's why 30 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: today's Bible verse matters so much. Today's Bible verses Psalm 31 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: one twenty sixty three, the Lord has done great things 32 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: for us, and we are filled with joy Someone twenty 33 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: six is a song of remembrance, and it's written from 34 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: the other side of a loss. The people of Israel 35 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: are looking back on a season when everything felt impossible, exiled, displacement, sorrow, 36 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,959 Speaker 1: and now standing in a new reality. They pause long 37 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: enough to say out loud, when God has done. That 38 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: is something important about this verse. It doesn't say the 39 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: Lord is doing great things for us. It says the 40 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: Lord has done great things for us. This is reflective joy. 41 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: This is the kind of joy that comes now, not 42 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: from anticipation, but from recognition. The Psalmist is saying, we 43 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: didn't even realize it while it was happening, but now 44 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: we see it. And that's often how redemption works. God's 45 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: greatest work in our lives is usually quiet, slow, hidden 46 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: beneath layers of prayer, humility, and time. And then one 47 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: day you notice it, not a dramatic miracle, but in 48 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: a moment so ordinary and almost passes you by. A 49 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: conversation that feels safe again, laughter that doesn't feel forced, 50 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: a scent the trigger's gratitude instead of grief, and suddenly 51 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: realize the Lord has done great things for us. This 52 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: verse doesn't deny the pain that came before it. Some 53 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: six actually begins by remembering tears, loss, and longing. But 54 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: joy doesn't erase those memories, so he integrates them. That's 55 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: what makes it real. The joy described here isn't naive, 56 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: it isn't shallow. It's joy that has survived sorrow. And 57 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: that's the kind of Joey I felt standing in my 58 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: kitchen that night. That excitement, not emotional fireworks, just this 59 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: quiet steady recognition. This didn't have to turn out this way. 60 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: Some of you listening today are still in the middle 61 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: of the hard part. You're not yet saying the Lord 62 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: has done great things for us. You're still praying, Lord, 63 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: are you doing anything at all? And if that's you, 64 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: I want to gently say this. Psalm one twenty six 65 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: doesn't rush you past grief. It simply reminds you that 66 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: grief does not get the final word. Joey and scriptures 67 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: often delayed, but it's never forgotten by God. Restoration doesn't 68 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: always look like getting back what you lost. Sometimes it 69 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: looks like learning to recognize what God has rebuilt. The 70 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: relationship that comes back isn't the same. The faith that 71 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:03,160 Speaker 1: survives is humbler. Joey that returns is quieter but stronger. 72 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: You don't appreciate ordinary moments unless you know how easily 73 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: they can disappear. You don't pause to notice a small 74 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: thing unless you've lived through seasons where nothing felt safe 75 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: for certain. And when Psalm one sixty three says we 76 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: are filled with joy, it's not talking about constant happiness. 77 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: It's talking about fullness, a deep awareness that God has 78 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: been at work here breend if you're wondering whether God 79 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: can redeem your story, your marriage, your faith, your calling. 80 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: Remember this, You don't have to see the whole picture 81 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: to recognize one little brushstroke of grace. Sometimes a redemption 82 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: shows up as awareness before it shows up as celebration, 83 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: and awareness itself is a gift. Before we close, here's 84 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: a simple limitation for today. Pause long enough to notice 85 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: one ordinary thing that feels different than it once did. 86 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: Not bigger, not perfect, just different. That moment of gratitude 87 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: may be your own quiet way of saying the Lord 88 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: has done great things for us. Before we close. Here's 89 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: a simple step, but today, try practicing noticing. At some 90 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: point today, Paul's long enough to notice one ordinary moment 91 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: you would have rushed past before. Don't analyze it, don't 92 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: over spiritualize it, just notice it and quietly name it 93 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: as a gift. Redemption often shows up softly, and gratitude 94 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: is how we learn to recognize it. We pray with me, 95 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: Dear Lord in heaven, You and I have seen some things, 96 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: haven't We and our listeners have two Lord. Sometimes we 97 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 1: have to go through difficult things to appreciate what you 98 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: have for us, But you love us so much you're 99 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: right there with us, and Lord, when we can survive 100 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: these hard things, we give you the glory. Sometimes it's 101 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: hard to talk about the hard things, but when you 102 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: make it through, it honors you and you get us 103 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: to the other side. And sometimes it takes longer than 104 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: others because of your individual plans for each of us, 105 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: And sometimes we just feel so lost, so alone, so depressed, 106 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: and then we can pause and we can notice. Help us, 107 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: Lord to slow down enough to notice, even if it's 108 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: a very small, tiny thing, because your love surrounds us 109 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: all the time, no matter how we feel, and your 110 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: precious name, we pray Amen.