1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily 2 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day 3 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: to learn more about God and his will for us. 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jennifer Slattery, and after this short word 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: from our sponsors, we'll dive into today's Bible verse, John 6 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: sixteen thirty three. Today's Bible Verse is John sixteen thirty three. 7 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: I have told you these things so that in me 8 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. 9 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: But take heart, I have overcome the world. You may 10 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: have heard the phrase ignorance is bliss. That might be 11 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: true when it involves a situation where not knowing don't 12 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: cause problems, But what about those unexpected situations that hit 13 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: you hard, like getting laid off, learning about a challenging 14 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: health diagnosis, or landing in a major relational conflict. God's 15 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: preparation often begins before the crisis comes. Early in my marriage, 16 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: my husband and I impulse shopped ourselves into significant debt. 17 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: Recognizing where this would lead if we didn't change, we 18 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: began taking biblical financial classes. During those sessions, the presenter 19 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: emphasized the importance of preparing for unforeseen financial expenses, and 20 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: so we began prioritizing our savings account, not knowing that 21 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: five years later we'd experience a season of unemployment that 22 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 1: drain our resources. But God knew, by his grace and 23 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: nudges of the Holy Spirit. He inspired us to live 24 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: frugally when income came in, so that we could survive 25 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: that uncomfortable period without landing in debt. Now, I do 26 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: want to say, Guy's preparation often looks different for each 27 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: of us, so please don't take my experience as normative, 28 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: except in what it reveals regarding God's character. Anyway, I 29 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: reflected on that time in the Lord's Faithful Guidance as 30 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: I read the circumstances surrounding today's verse. It reminds us 31 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: that yes, trouble will come, guaranteed, but thanks to Christ, 32 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: we never have to face life's difficulties unprepared. God's preparation 33 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: often begins before the crisis comes. This occurred on the 34 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: night before his death, an event he'd repeatedly foretold, but 35 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: that his disciples never seemed to grasp, perhaps because they 36 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: didn't want to. I wonder if their ignorance came from 37 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: some degree of cognitive dissonance. Regardless, by this point, in 38 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: Jesus's earthly ministry, it became imperative that they understood what 39 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: would soon occur, And so he told them plainly that 40 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: one from among their close knit circle would betray him, 41 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: Peter deny him, they'd all abandon him, and the authorities 42 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: would soon arrest and kill him, their fearless, miracle working Messiah. Oh, 43 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: and that they would soon experience similar treatment. That was 44 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: hard news, but he gave them good news, glorious news 45 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: as well, promises so powerful and assuring, they'd experience supernatural 46 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: peace even amid such painful chaos. Because they knew what 47 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: was coming, they were less prone to fearful spirals, but 48 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: also because they could trust that they'd never face accusation 49 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: or suffering alone. Al May to God, their defender and 50 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: guide would remain with them. First, the full Trinity, God, 51 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: the Father, God, the Son, and God. The Holy Spirit 52 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: again would remain with them and would reside within them 53 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: a constant source of comfort, strength, and guidance. They didn't 54 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: need to ruminate over what to say when they stood accused, 55 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: because the Holy Spirit would speak through them. When fear 56 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: tells us, we don't know what to do, the Spirit responds, 57 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: I've got you. Jesus also assured them that their hardship 58 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: wouldn't last forever, stating that he was going to prepare 59 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: a place for them, which also indicates that they'd forever 60 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: remain on his mind and in his heart. And he 61 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: said that he'd return for them so that they could 62 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: reside in eternal paradise with him. He assured them of 63 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: the Father's love, stating that God the Father loved each 64 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: of them with the same love in purity and intensity 65 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: with which he loved God the Son. That blows my 66 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: mind and is something worth meditating upon deeply. And Jesus 67 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: gave them clear instructions on how to experience his peace, strength, 68 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: and courage by remaining vitally connected to him the vine. 69 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: Then later he showed us what this can look like 70 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: when he fell on his face in the garden of 71 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: Gsemite and cried out in anguish desperate to the Father. 72 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: Notice how Heaven responded. Scripture tells us in Luke twenty two, 73 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: verse forty three that an angel from Heaven appeared to him, 74 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,679 Speaker 1: strengthening him. That's not to say the Lord will always 75 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: send an angel our way when life feels hard and overwhelming, 76 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: but he will provide supernatural strength as we turn to 77 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: and rely on him. And that's also not to say 78 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: we won't feel weak in the moment. Our emotions are valid, 79 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: but they don't always understand truth. The promises, and I'm 80 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: pulling from Isaiah forty three, verses two to four. Here 81 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 1: the promises that he'll remain with us and won't let 82 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: us drown. God's presence anchors us amid life's choppy seas. 83 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: These are some of the things he told the disciples 84 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: so that, as today's verse states, in him, they might 85 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: have peace. But notice also he began the verse by stating, 86 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: I have told you these things in essence, pointing to 87 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: himself and his truth. He acknowledged they'd encounter trouble. But 88 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: then he points them back to himself yet again, stating 89 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: that they'd find peace in him, and finally, what was 90 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: his solution to the trouble? They'd face the fact that 91 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: he had already overcome. In all of these things, he 92 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: was emphasizing that he was their source of peace, strength, 93 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: and victory. He's hours as well. God preserved that conversation. 94 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: Christ's instructions and promises in John chapter thirteen through seventeen, 95 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: for us as well. Often fear tells us that we're vulnerable, abandoned, 96 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: and one hardship away from completely unraveling. But scripture assures 97 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: us we're loved, held, empowered, scene led, and promised a 98 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: glorious future with the one who secured it with his 99 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: death and resurrection. If you're in a difficult season, consider 100 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: reading John thirteen through seventeen, making note of all the 101 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: promises preserved in that section of scripture, and prayerfully journaling 102 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: on what each one means in your present season, and 103 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: maybe ask God to show you how He's already prepared 104 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: you for your present season. I also invite you to 105 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: listen to a recent Faith over your podcast episode titled 106 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: Calm Anxiety and Overwhelm through Time with Christ. I believe 107 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: you'll find my guests insights helpful. I did, because again, 108 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: God's preparation often begins before the crisis comes. Let's pray, 109 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: Holy Father, you are faithful, You're brilliant, you're ever present, 110 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: you're all powerful. You know history from beginning to end. 111 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: You know our stories from beginning to end. You know 112 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: the difficulties we experience today, the overwhelm we feel, the pain, 113 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: we feel, the anxiety, you know it all, but you 114 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: know where you're taking us. And you have promised us 115 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: a glorious future, a hope filled future, because you love us. 116 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: You loved us so much that you sent your son 117 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: to earth to die on our behalf, to make a 118 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: way for us to have an intimate relationship with you. 119 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: And we are so very grateful. We know that you 120 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: are constantly building into our soul. You are constantly molding 121 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: and growing us when we recognize your hand and when 122 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: we don't. But we also understand that our faith grows 123 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: when we become more aware of you and all the 124 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: ways that you are working in our lives. So help 125 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: us to recognize your hand, help us to recognize ways 126 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: you have already prepared us for this season. Help us 127 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: to tap into those strengths that you have built within us. 128 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: And most importantly, it has happened to your strength that 129 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: resides within us. We love you, and we praise you, 130 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: and we are so very grateful for your son, our Savior. 131 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: And it is in his name, Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen. 132 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 2: Looking for a peaceful way to end your day, our 133 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 2: new sister show your nightly scripture guides you each night 134 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 2: through a passage of Scripture, along with a calming devotional 135 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 2: and evening prayer. It's the perfect way to end your 136 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 2: day and help you sleep in peace. Your Nightly Scripture 137 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 2: is now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen 138 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,319 Speaker 2: to podcasts.