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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture,

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Speaker 1: a calming, scripture centered devotional podcast designed to help you

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Speaker 1: end each day with God's word in your mind and

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Speaker 1: on your heart. Right after this short word from our sponsors,

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Speaker 1: will reflect on Tonight's scripture Lamentations three. Tonight's scripture reflection

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Speaker 1: is written by Amanda Idleman and read by Lea Gerrard

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Speaker 1: Lamentations three. I am the man who has seen affliction

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Speaker 1: by the rod of the Lord's wrath. He has driven

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Speaker 1: me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light. Indeed,

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Speaker 1: he has turned his hand against me again and again

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Speaker 1: all day long. He has made my skin and my

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Speaker 1: flesh grow old, and has broken my bones. He has

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Speaker 1: besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He

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Speaker 1: has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.

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Speaker 1: He has walled me in so I cannot escape. He

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Speaker 1: has weighed me down with chains. Even when I call

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Speaker 1: out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.

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Speaker 1: He has barred my way with blocks of stone. He

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Speaker 1: has made my paths crooked like a bear lying in wait,

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Speaker 1: like a lion in hiding. He dragged me from the

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Speaker 1: path and mangled me and left me without help. He

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Speaker 1: drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

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Speaker 1: He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. I

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Speaker 1: became the laughing stock of all my people. They mock

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Speaker 1: me in song all day long. He has filled me

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Speaker 1: with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink. He

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Speaker 1: has broken my teeth with gravel. He has trampled me

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Speaker 1: in the dust. I've been deprived of peace. I've forgotten

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Speaker 1: what prosperity is. So I say my splendor is gaune

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Speaker 1: and all that I had hoped from the Lord. I

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Speaker 1: remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the

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Speaker 1: gall I well remember them. And my soul is downcast

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Speaker 1: within me. Yet this I call to mind, and therefore

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Speaker 1: I have hope. Because of the Lord's great love. We

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Speaker 1: are not consumed. For his compassions never fail. They are

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Speaker 1: new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. I say to myself,

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Speaker 1: The Lord is my portion. Therefore I will wait for him.

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Speaker 1: The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

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Speaker 1: to the one who seeks him. It's good to wait

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Speaker 1: quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good

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Speaker 1: for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

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Speaker 1: Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has

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Speaker 1: laid it on him. Let him bury his face in

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Speaker 1: the dust. There may yet be hope. Let him offer

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Speaker 1: his cheek to the one who would strike him, and

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Speaker 1: let him be filled with disgrace. For no one is

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Speaker 1: cast off by the Lord. Forever. Though he brings grief,

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Speaker 1: he will show compassion. So great is his unfailing love.

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Speaker 1: For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.

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Speaker 1: To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, to deny

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Speaker 1: people their rights before the Most High, to deprive them

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Speaker 1: of justice. Would not the Lord see such things? Who

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Speaker 1: can speak and have it happen? If the Lord does

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Speaker 1: not decreed? It is it not from the mouth of

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Speaker 1: the Most High that both calamities and good things come.

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Speaker 1: Why should the living complain when punished for their sins.

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Speaker 1: Let us examine our ways and test them, and let

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Speaker 1: us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our

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Speaker 1: hearts and our hands to God in heaven and say,

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Speaker 1: we have sinned and rebelled, and you've not forgiven, You've

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Speaker 1: covered yourself with anger and pursued us. You've slain without

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Speaker 1: pity you've covered yourself with a cloud so that no

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Speaker 1: prayer can get through. You have made us scum and

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Speaker 1: refuse among the nations. All our enemies have opened their

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Speaker 1: mouths wide against us. We've suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin

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Speaker 1: and destruction. Streams of tears flow from my eyes because

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Speaker 1: my people are destroyed. My eyes will flow unceasingly without

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Speaker 1: relief until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees

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Speaker 1: what I see. Brings grief to my soul. Because of

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Speaker 1: all the women of my city, those who were my

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Speaker 1: enemies without cause hunted me like a bird. They tried

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Speaker 1: to end my life in a pit and threw stones

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Speaker 1: at me. The waters closed over my head, and I

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Speaker 1: thought I was about to perish. I called on your name, Lord,

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Speaker 1: from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea,

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Speaker 1: do not close your ears to my cry for relief.

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Speaker 1: You came near when I called you, and you said,

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Speaker 1: do not fear.

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Speaker 2: You.

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Speaker 1: Lord took up my case. You redeemed my life. Lord,

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Speaker 1: you have seen the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause.

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Speaker 1: You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their

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Speaker 1: plots against me. Lord, you have heard their insults, all

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Speaker 1: their plots against me, what my enemies whisper and mutter

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Speaker 1: against me all day long. Look at them sitting or standing.

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Speaker 1: They mock me in their songs. Pay them back what

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Speaker 1: they deserve, Lord, for what their hands have done. Put

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Speaker 1: a veil over their hearts, and may your curse beyond them.

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Speaker 1: Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the

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Speaker 1: heavens of the Lord. Most adults can, on average, remain

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Speaker 1: focused on a single task for about ten to twenty

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Speaker 1: minutes before they get distracted. For the most part, humans

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Speaker 1: can't stay focused on much for very long. Life is

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Speaker 1: always moving, and consequently, our brains are designed to always

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Speaker 1: be on the go. While it's often necessary to shift

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Speaker 1: our focus quickly and easily, it can make it harder

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Speaker 1: to remember to focus on the things that matter. Often

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Speaker 1: we're consumed by a feeling or an urgent task that

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Speaker 1: needs to be done in the moment. Sometimes these feelings

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Speaker 1: aren't the truth, and the task in front of us

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Speaker 1: isn't the most important one to be done in any

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Speaker 1: given moment. This is why the Bible urges us over

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Speaker 1: and over to remember God's faithfulness. We have to actively

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Speaker 1: and purposely put things in place that remind us that

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Speaker 1: God is with us. He loves us and cares for us,

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Speaker 1: and we are not alone in our struggles. If we

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Speaker 1: aren't intentional about refocusing our minds and hearts onto God's word,

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Speaker 1: our attention will continue to be consumed by the tasks

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Speaker 1: of the day. What can you do to reflect on

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Speaker 1: God's faithfulness each morning and evening? What tools do you

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Speaker 1: need to be intentional about connecting with Jesus at the

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Speaker 1: start and end of each day? Are there verses you

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Speaker 1: want to memorize that will help you return to the

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Speaker 1: truth that God loves you. Father, You've given me a

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Speaker 1: brain that's always moving forward. Help me do the hard

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Speaker 1: work of twice daily pressing pause on this forward motion

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Speaker 1: and reflecting on your faithfulness. I thank you for your

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Speaker 1: many good gifts in my life. Help me to remember

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Speaker 1: that you are with me. Let me not take your

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Speaker 1: goodness and mercy for granted. I love you, Jesus, Amen.

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Speaker 1: How did Tonight's scripture speak to you? Share your thoughts

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Speaker 1: in the Your Nightly Scripture Forum discussion. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: listening to your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture was read from

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Speaker 1: the New International Version by Biblica. All rights reserved if

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Speaker 1: tonight's episode Blessed you be sure to follow the show

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Speaker 1: of Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you and we'll

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Speaker 1: see you tomorrow night.

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