1 00:00:32,025 --> 00:00:36,305 Speaker 1: Hey friends, Jennifer Slattery here thanking you for a wonderful year. 2 00:00:36,625 --> 00:00:39,745 Speaker 1: Your support means the world to us. I also wanted 3 00:00:39,784 --> 00:00:41,425 Speaker 1: to let you know that my team and I will 4 00:00:41,465 --> 00:00:44,104 Speaker 1: be taking a two week break in January to regroup 5 00:00:44,144 --> 00:00:47,665 Speaker 1: and refuel spiritually. During that time, will we air some 6 00:00:47,784 --> 00:00:51,385 Speaker 1: of our most popular episodes if you've already listened to them. 7 00:00:51,545 --> 00:00:55,505 Speaker 1: Perhaps consider this an opportunity to prayerfully reflect on the 8 00:00:55,585 --> 00:00:59,785 Speaker 1: truce anew. May you encounter the Lord in a personal 9 00:01:00,025 --> 00:01:13,505 Speaker 1: and fulfilling way each time you listen God Bless Life Audio. 10 00:01:15,265 --> 00:01:18,545 Speaker 2: Hello, and thank you for listening to your Daily Bible Verse, 11 00:01:18,745 --> 00:01:22,185 Speaker 2: the podcast that examines one verse each day to learn 12 00:01:22,225 --> 00:01:25,665 Speaker 2: more about God and his will for us. You know, 13 00:01:25,785 --> 00:01:30,105 Speaker 2: rejection can make even the best relationships feel unsafe. We 14 00:01:30,185 --> 00:01:34,145 Speaker 2: can build walls to close ourselves inside of but God 15 00:01:34,305 --> 00:01:37,464 Speaker 2: calls us to live at ease with others, to live open, 16 00:01:38,065 --> 00:01:42,265 Speaker 2: armed towards others. Now, in my book Reframing Rejection, how 17 00:01:42,305 --> 00:01:46,385 Speaker 2: looking through a different lens changes everything, I walk you 18 00:01:46,544 --> 00:01:50,385 Speaker 2: through steps to learn to trust God with your relationships. 19 00:01:50,865 --> 00:01:54,465 Speaker 2: I'm your host, Jessica Vanrokeol And after this short word 20 00:01:54,465 --> 00:01:58,704 Speaker 2: from our sponsor, will dive into today's Bible verse Psalm 21 00:01:58,865 --> 00:02:15,385 Speaker 2: chapter eighteen, verse nineteen. Today's Bible verses Psalm chapter eighteen, 22 00:02:15,505 --> 00:02:20,185 Speaker 2: verse nineteen. He brought me out into a broad, spacious place. 23 00:02:20,785 --> 00:02:26,745 Speaker 2: He rescued me because he delighted in me. Years ago, 24 00:02:27,145 --> 00:02:30,265 Speaker 2: I hiked up a steep but small mountain in the 25 00:02:30,305 --> 00:02:34,425 Speaker 2: northern United States. I wound my way through thick trees 26 00:02:34,505 --> 00:02:38,705 Speaker 2: and over slippery, thin, flat rock. In fact, if you 27 00:02:38,745 --> 00:02:42,584 Speaker 2: didn't walk sideways up the mountain, you would slide down 28 00:02:42,665 --> 00:02:47,065 Speaker 2: the mountain. That's what this rock did. So branches slapped 29 00:02:47,105 --> 00:02:49,745 Speaker 2: on my arms and bushes snapped at my legs. But 30 00:02:49,864 --> 00:02:53,545 Speaker 2: then the trees thinned out, and I stepped onto a 31 00:02:53,665 --> 00:02:59,424 Speaker 2: wide plateau. Sunlight poured over me, the ground evened out, 32 00:02:59,825 --> 00:03:05,465 Speaker 2: the views were breathtaking, and the spaciousness felt like freedom. 33 00:03:06,905 --> 00:03:09,745 Speaker 2: Sometimes in life it can feel like we're climbing a 34 00:03:09,905 --> 00:03:14,304 Speaker 2: steep trail, where stress, fear, or failure can constrict us, 35 00:03:14,825 --> 00:03:18,905 Speaker 2: and our steps feel risky and exhausting. But then God 36 00:03:18,945 --> 00:03:23,905 Speaker 2: comes beside us. Psalm chapter eighteen, verse nineteen says he 37 00:03:24,025 --> 00:03:27,905 Speaker 2: brought me out into a broad, spacious place. He rescued 38 00:03:27,945 --> 00:03:32,624 Speaker 2: me because he delighted in me. What a beautiful reminder. 39 00:03:32,704 --> 00:03:37,064 Speaker 2: Today God delights to rescue us. His love for us 40 00:03:37,145 --> 00:03:41,785 Speaker 2: isn't duty bound, but motivated out of his love. Psalm 41 00:03:41,785 --> 00:03:44,345 Speaker 2: eighteen fills the heart of those who feel like they 42 00:03:44,345 --> 00:03:47,505 Speaker 2: can't take another step, and it fills us with comfort 43 00:03:47,545 --> 00:03:52,425 Speaker 2: and hope. Charles Spurgeon says this about today's verse. Some 44 00:03:52,585 --> 00:03:55,385 Speaker 2: will not see the hand of God, but I warrant you, 45 00:03:55,665 --> 00:03:59,225 Speaker 2: brothers and sisters, those who have been delivered out of 46 00:03:59,265 --> 00:04:04,185 Speaker 2: deep waters will see it. Their experience teaches them that 47 00:04:04,265 --> 00:04:08,985 Speaker 2: God is yet among us. Psalm eighteen was written by David, 48 00:04:09,225 --> 00:04:15,665 Speaker 2: and we know from scripture that David faced extreme trials, lions, bears, giants, 49 00:04:16,105 --> 00:04:20,665 Speaker 2: life on the run, being despised, leading other ne'er dowells. 50 00:04:21,625 --> 00:04:24,545 Speaker 2: David does not say his way was perfect, but that 51 00:04:24,585 --> 00:04:28,585 Speaker 2: he continued to show a heart of devotion, obedience, and faithfulness. 52 00:04:29,425 --> 00:04:33,465 Speaker 2: Today's verse comes from a chapter se symbolizing the ongoing 53 00:04:33,625 --> 00:04:39,265 Speaker 2: life struggles against physical and spiritual forces while highlighting the 54 00:04:39,385 --> 00:04:43,784 Speaker 2: rescuer of us. All examining the context of a verse 55 00:04:44,225 --> 00:04:48,305 Speaker 2: involves looking at the nearby scriptures, cross references, and the 56 00:04:48,344 --> 00:04:52,625 Speaker 2: whole narrative of the Bible. From the beginning, God planned 57 00:04:52,665 --> 00:04:55,664 Speaker 2: a great rescue through the life and death of Jesus Christ. 58 00:04:56,585 --> 00:04:59,544 Speaker 2: But God also rescues us on a day to day 59 00:04:59,585 --> 00:05:03,905 Speaker 2: basis when we cry out to him. God is strong 60 00:05:04,025 --> 00:05:07,785 Speaker 2: enough to save and put us in a safe place. David, 61 00:05:07,865 --> 00:05:11,185 Speaker 2: despite the dangers he faced, was set in safety even 62 00:05:11,305 --> 00:05:17,425 Speaker 2: when his circumstances didn't always seem safe. The spacious place 63 00:05:17,665 --> 00:05:24,104 Speaker 2: is figurative language demonstrating freedom from distress and anxiety. God 64 00:05:24,185 --> 00:05:30,945 Speaker 2: delivers us to spacious places where we exchange distress for peace, 65 00:05:32,065 --> 00:05:37,344 Speaker 2: exchange anxiety for trust. Other verses to consider are where 66 00:05:37,425 --> 00:05:41,545 Speaker 2: David echoes his earlier thought. In Psalm eighteen, verse thirty six, 67 00:05:42,665 --> 00:05:45,825 Speaker 2: David writes, you gave a wide place for my steps 68 00:05:45,904 --> 00:05:49,784 Speaker 2: under me, and my feet did not slip. Imagine that. 69 00:05:50,745 --> 00:05:54,664 Speaker 2: He writes again in Psalm chapter forty, verse two, he 70 00:05:55,705 --> 00:05:58,945 Speaker 2: speaking about God drew me up from the pit of destruction, 71 00:05:59,505 --> 00:06:02,185 Speaker 2: out of the mirie bog and set my feet upon 72 00:06:02,224 --> 00:06:06,305 Speaker 2: a rock, making my steps secure. I have found that 73 00:06:06,425 --> 00:06:09,785 Speaker 2: distress and anxiety can weigh our feet down and make 74 00:06:09,865 --> 00:06:14,465 Speaker 2: forward momentum hard. We can experience the same kind of rescue. 75 00:06:14,505 --> 00:06:17,665 Speaker 2: Listen to Psalm one hundred and eighteen, verse five. Out 76 00:06:17,665 --> 00:06:20,625 Speaker 2: of my distress. I called on the Lord. He answered 77 00:06:20,665 --> 00:06:24,064 Speaker 2: me and set me free. Not only does David write 78 00:06:24,065 --> 00:06:27,344 Speaker 2: of God rescuing him, but he also gives the reason 79 00:06:27,585 --> 00:06:32,705 Speaker 2: why God cares so much. God delights. To delight is 80 00:06:32,745 --> 00:06:36,345 Speaker 2: to incline or bend toward God. The one who put 81 00:06:36,385 --> 00:06:39,065 Speaker 2: the sun and moon in their place, delights in us. 82 00:06:39,545 --> 00:06:44,065 Speaker 2: He the one who breathes stars, bends toward us. This 83 00:06:44,265 --> 00:06:47,665 Speaker 2: verse tells us God is strong enough to save and 84 00:06:47,745 --> 00:06:51,784 Speaker 2: puts us in a safe place because of his delight 85 00:06:52,224 --> 00:06:57,224 Speaker 2: for us. Delighted in him has two meanings. First, God 86 00:06:57,344 --> 00:07:01,104 Speaker 2: delighted in David because God chose him, anointed him, and 87 00:07:01,185 --> 00:07:05,984 Speaker 2: set his loving kindness on him. Second, God delighted in 88 00:07:06,105 --> 00:07:10,785 Speaker 2: David because David lived a righteous life. We can live 89 00:07:10,905 --> 00:07:14,465 Speaker 2: a righteous life. God reveals his love to us by 90 00:07:14,505 --> 00:07:20,225 Speaker 2: delivering us from sin, evil propensities, and spiritual enemies. God 91 00:07:20,265 --> 00:07:24,185 Speaker 2: sets Jesus's righteousness on us and then helps us live 92 00:07:24,225 --> 00:07:28,985 Speaker 2: it out. God's favor is the root and fountain of deliverance. 93 00:07:29,505 --> 00:07:34,025 Speaker 2: He sustains and he bears up. Mostly in this psalm, 94 00:07:34,305 --> 00:07:37,985 Speaker 2: David reminds us that God delivers us not for our 95 00:07:38,105 --> 00:07:43,385 Speaker 2: own merit, but for God's grace and good will. David 96 00:07:43,465 --> 00:07:46,905 Speaker 2: lived as a forgotten shepherd and a fugitive in a 97 00:07:46,945 --> 00:07:51,585 Speaker 2: cave before he sat on a throne. Joseph from Genesis 98 00:07:51,625 --> 00:07:55,585 Speaker 2: in the Old Testament lived as a precious son, then 99 00:07:55,625 --> 00:07:59,265 Speaker 2: as a slave, then in a prison, before he finally 100 00:07:59,305 --> 00:08:03,624 Speaker 2: moved to a palace. Like Spurgeon writes, our hearts thrum 101 00:08:03,785 --> 00:08:08,105 Speaker 2: with pleasure made sweeter after the pain, we will know hardship. 102 00:08:08,545 --> 00:08:12,225 Speaker 2: It will feel like life drowns us with heartache. When 103 00:08:12,265 --> 00:08:15,465 Speaker 2: we cry out to God, he rescues us because He 104 00:08:16,305 --> 00:08:20,465 Speaker 2: delights in us. There will be times when we don't 105 00:08:20,465 --> 00:08:25,425 Speaker 2: experience a physical rescue where we are completely removed from 106 00:08:25,465 --> 00:08:26,465 Speaker 2: our situations. 107 00:08:26,545 --> 00:08:26,785 Speaker 1: Life. 108 00:08:27,025 --> 00:08:31,625 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, just sometimes isn't like that. But instead we 109 00:08:32,025 --> 00:08:39,265 Speaker 2: and know and internal rescue breed from anxiety and distress. Today, 110 00:08:39,985 --> 00:08:44,345 Speaker 2: lean into God's delight of you. He inclines toward you 111 00:08:45,225 --> 00:08:50,665 Speaker 2: to set you in a place free from worry anxiety, 112 00:08:51,345 --> 00:08:55,185 Speaker 2: and he calls you to walk into a spacious place 113 00:08:55,225 --> 00:08:59,825 Speaker 2: with him and to trust him. Let's pray, Holy God, 114 00:08:59,905 --> 00:09:03,905 Speaker 2: thank you so much that you delight in us, that 115 00:09:04,025 --> 00:09:07,505 Speaker 2: you lead us to safety. Lord, that you reach down 116 00:09:07,545 --> 00:09:10,025 Speaker 2: from on high and you grab us out of the 117 00:09:10,105 --> 00:09:14,665 Speaker 2: miry depths, the place of distress and anxiety. God, and 118 00:09:14,705 --> 00:09:18,985 Speaker 2: you bring us to this spacious place where you give 119 00:09:19,065 --> 00:09:22,665 Speaker 2: us peace and freedom. Lord, Help us to trust you, 120 00:09:23,385 --> 00:09:26,625 Speaker 2: help us to look to you, Help us to follow 121 00:09:26,705 --> 00:09:31,585 Speaker 2: you forward, to keep our eyes fixed on you. Lord. 122 00:09:31,985 --> 00:09:36,345 Speaker 2: We love you, and we delight in you in Jesus' name, Amen, 123 00:09:41,585 --> 00:09:41,905 Speaker 2: mhm