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Speaker 1: Life Audio Welcome to the Crosswalk Devotional. We're so glad

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Speaker 1: to have you listening with us. Today's topic is thanking

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Speaker 1: God for things that never actually happened. We'll return with

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Speaker 1: a devotional after a brief message from our sponsors. Thank

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Speaker 1: God for what never happened. Written and read by Melinda I. Cooper.

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Speaker 1: Bible reading. But the Lord is faithful, and he will

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Speaker 1: strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 2

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Speaker 1: Thessalonians 3, verse 3, NIV. Devotion. I like true crime shows,

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Speaker 1: but only if the perpetrator is caught by the end

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Speaker 1: of the program. Honestly, I wrestled with this about myself

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Speaker 1: for a while. why? What exactly is it that I

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Speaker 1: like about horrible things happening and criminals getting busted? And

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Speaker 1: it boils down to one word, justice. I believe in justice.

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Speaker 1: These days, advances in forensic science make it possible to

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Speaker 1: solve very old cold cases. An investigative genetic genealogist can

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Speaker 1: figure out who DNA belongs to through family trees. A

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Speaker 1: perpetrator can be caught by DNA he left behind before

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Speaker 1: most of us even knew what DNA was. I imagine

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Speaker 1: some criminals are shaking in their boots knowing they could

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Speaker 1: get busted any day for something they did 30 years ago. Still,

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Speaker 1: justice can take many years. So, as I watch true

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Speaker 1: crime shows, and see how these poor folks ran into

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Speaker 1: people with evil intent, I see how easily I could

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Speaker 1: have been one of these victims, because I've also found

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Speaker 1: myself in many of the scenarios. Back before cell phones

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Speaker 1: and the internet, we crossed our fingers and said a

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Speaker 1: prayer that we'd get to wherever we were going. Once,

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Speaker 1: when I was 18, driving home from closing a fast

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Speaker 1: food restaurant at 1 a.m., the alternator went out in

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Speaker 1: my car. I coasted with dimming lights into a local

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Speaker 1: cemetery entrance while Mike's car slowly died. Soon, a truck

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Speaker 1: pulled up and a strange man offered me assistance. Nervous,

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Speaker 1: I declined and bolted across the street to a nearby house,

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Speaker 1: banging on the door until an elderly lady finally answered. Thankfully,

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Speaker 1: she allowed me to use her phone to call home

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Speaker 1: and soon, my dad showed up, much to my relief.

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Speaker 1: That's just one of many precarious situations I found myself

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Speaker 1: in my youth. The older and wiser I become, the

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Speaker 1: more I know God has had me in His protection

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Speaker 1: without a doubt, and I'm sure I'm not aware of

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Speaker 1: many dangerous situations where He's kept me safe without my knowledge.

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Speaker 1: Intersecting Faith and Life The truth is, not only are

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Speaker 1: we subject to human nature— our own and others— but but also

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Speaker 1: forces of evil that would like nothing more than to

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Speaker 1: cause us harm. But we could easily become full of

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Speaker 1: anxiety if we allow thoughts of what could happen to

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Speaker 1: overwhelm us. God doesn't want us living in fear or anxiety.

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Speaker 1: We're reminded in the Psalms, In peace I will lie

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Speaker 1: down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell

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Speaker 1: in safety. Psalm 4, verse 8 NIV God is with us.

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Speaker 1: He's protecting us, and He alone is making us dwell

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Speaker 1: in safety. Sadly, people can do some awful things to

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Speaker 1: other people, and we should never trust another person the

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Speaker 1: way we trust God. Evil is real. The demonic spiritual

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Speaker 1: realm is real. But so is God, and He's sovereign, faithful,

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Speaker 1: and trustworthy. Looking back through the lens of our youth,

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Speaker 1: we'll see God's protective hands covering us more times than

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Speaker 1: we can count or even imagine. The things He protected

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Speaker 1: us from have allowed us to move forward and live

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Speaker 1: the life He has for us, a good life. We

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Speaker 1: may not make the connection of His protection until many

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Speaker 1: years later, but He has us tight in His grip.

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Speaker 1: If God allows us to experience something good or bad,

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Speaker 1: there's purpose. And He uses those things for our good,

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Speaker 1: one way or another. He strengthens us as we walk

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Speaker 1: with Him. He loves us more than we can comprehend

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Speaker 1: and has our best interests at heart. Throughout our lives,

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Speaker 1: we might get a tiny glimpse of just how much

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Speaker 1: God must love us to give His only Son to

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Speaker 1: pay the price for our sin, though we can never

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Speaker 1: truly grasp the depth of His great love. We know

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Speaker 1: he has good plans for our lives and his protection

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Speaker 1: is part of those plans. Knowing it could have easily

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Speaker 1: been us but wasn't makes us grateful for his protection

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Speaker 1: and guidance and truly thankful for things that never happened. Father,

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Speaker 1: thank you for protecting me even when I didn't realize

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Speaker 1: the danger in my midst. In the powerful name of Jesus, amen.

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Speaker 1: If you're looking to grow in prayer or start your

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Speaker 1: day with your heart focused on the right things, search

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Speaker 1: for Your Daily Prayer in your favorite podcast app and

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Speaker 1: be sure to follow the show so you get a

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Speaker 1: new prayer delivered straight to you each morning.