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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to daily devotions with Pastor John. I'm John Stangey,

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Speaker 1: and today's devotion is inspired by Psalm ninety one, verse one,

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Speaker 1: which says he who dwells in the shelter of the

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Speaker 1: Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

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Speaker 1: In every life, there are things that have the potential

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Speaker 1: to produce worry and fear. We fear circumstances we can't control.

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Speaker 1: We fear people who may have poor motives. We fear

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Speaker 1: what if scenarios that we fabricated in our minds. But

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Speaker 1: our lives on this earth don't need to be consumed

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Speaker 1: by fear. Even in the most difficult and puzzling seasons,

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Speaker 1: we have a refuge. The Lord himself is our refuge.

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Speaker 1: Huge His word encourages us to dwell in his shelter,

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Speaker 1: to seek protection and provision from him, to rest confidently

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Speaker 1: knowing that he watches over our lives. Living in God's

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Speaker 1: shelter and abiding in his shadow is evidence of genuine faith.

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Speaker 1: When we come to faith in Jesus, we can approach

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Speaker 1: the coming days with a brand new perspective, we don't

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Speaker 1: have to convince ourselves that we are the ultimate source

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Speaker 1: of our protection and defense. Rather, we are convinced that

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Speaker 1: one of the benefits of being part of the family

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Speaker 1: of God is his assurance that our lives are held

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Speaker 1: securely in his hand. In every life there are trials,

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Speaker 1: But when your next trial comes, you don't need to

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Speaker 1: walk in fear. Through Christ, you have a true refuge.

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Speaker 1: You are under the protective care and watchful eye of

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Speaker 1: our loving Lord. Pray, Lord, we thank you for your word,

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Speaker 1: and we thank you for the privilege that it is

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Speaker 1: to be able to look at this scripture today from

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Speaker 1: the Book of Psalms and to think about what it means. Lord,

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Speaker 1: you tell us in your word that we are under

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Speaker 1: your protective care, and that your watchful eye is upon us,

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Speaker 1: that you meet our needs, that you provide for us

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Speaker 1: in ways that are deeper than our obvious needs, and

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Speaker 1: that you're caring for your children in every way possible.

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Speaker 1: And Lord, we're grateful to be able to understand that

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Speaker 1: as you make our minds able to comprehend these things,

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Speaker 1: Because when we're left to ourselves, we tend to drift

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Speaker 1: toward thinking that we need to control things that are

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Speaker 1: completely uncontrollable by us, and it stresses us out, it

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Speaker 1: produces anxiety and worry. Father, we know that that's not

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Speaker 1: your desire for us. Your desire is that we give

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Speaker 1: our cares over to you, and that we trust you

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Speaker 1: to be the source of our pction and provision and

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Speaker 1: confidence and rest. So, Father, we pray that whenever our

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Speaker 1: next trial comes, or whenever we experience a season that

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Speaker 1: seems abnormally confusing or worrisome, that we would give those

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Speaker 1: concerns over to you, That we would be reminded of

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Speaker 1: what your word has told us multiple times in multiple ways,

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Speaker 1: and that we would welcome the peace that passes all

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Speaker 1: understanding as you guard our hearts and guard our minds

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Speaker 1: and your son, Jesus Christ, Thank you, Father for accomplishing

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Speaker 1: these things on our behalf, and thank you for your

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Speaker 1: protective presence in our lives. We commit ourselves to you

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Speaker 1: now and pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,