1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:13,309 Speaker 1: Life Audio Hello. Thank you for listening to your daily 2 00:00:13,350 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: Bible verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day 3 00:00:17,420 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: to learn more about God and His will for us. 4 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:23,540 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jennifer Slattery, and after this short word 5 00:00:23,579 --> 00:00:27,250 Speaker 1: from our sponsors, we'll continue with our series, Courage for 6 00:00:27,290 --> 00:00:30,510 Speaker 1: the Journey, trusting God one step at a time with 7 00:00:30,550 --> 00:00:45,330 Speaker 1: a discussion on today's Bible verse, Joshua 3.5. Today's Bible 8 00:00:45,390 --> 00:00:49,809 Speaker 1: verse is Joshua 3.5. Joshua told the people, consecrate yourselves 9 00:00:49,890 --> 00:00:53,150 Speaker 1: for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. 10 00:00:54,950 --> 00:00:57,890 Speaker 1: We often want to experience God's power working in and 11 00:00:57,950 --> 00:01:00,770 Speaker 1: through us, but hesitate when he asks us to step 12 00:01:00,850 --> 00:01:05,010 Speaker 1: out into the unknown. At least that's my tendency. Years ago, 13 00:01:05,090 --> 00:01:08,050 Speaker 1: my fear could have left me stuck in a struggling 14 00:01:08,370 --> 00:01:10,990 Speaker 1: and lonely marriage in the ache of parenting a little 15 00:01:11,110 --> 00:01:15,270 Speaker 1: one largely alone. My husband held a demanding position that 16 00:01:15,350 --> 00:01:19,090 Speaker 1: required long hours, insufficient days off, and that left him 17 00:01:19,410 --> 00:01:24,509 Speaker 1: mentally and physically exhausted when home. But then on one 18 00:01:24,530 --> 00:01:28,389 Speaker 1: vacation filled with reading, prayer, and meditative walks on the beach, 19 00:01:29,150 --> 00:01:34,150 Speaker 1: the Lord presented a major redirect. He wanted my husband 20 00:01:34,170 --> 00:01:37,809 Speaker 1: to quit his job without clear direction as to where 21 00:01:37,910 --> 00:01:43,180 Speaker 1: he'd work next. And initially, I panicked. But the Lord 22 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,460 Speaker 1: met me in my fear, reminded me of his tender, 23 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:52,350 Speaker 1: faithful love, and encouraged me to trust. that turned into 24 00:01:52,410 --> 00:01:56,690 Speaker 1: a year and a half transitional period that was painful 25 00:01:57,270 --> 00:02:02,690 Speaker 1: and frightening, but also that saved my marriage, united our family, 26 00:02:03,350 --> 00:02:06,860 Speaker 1: and helped me break free from some fear-based behaviors that 27 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:11,980 Speaker 1: were dramatically contributing to my anxiety. All that to say, 28 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: I can understand how ancient Israel must have felt the 29 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: day the Lord called them to cross a large river 30 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:22,860 Speaker 1: at flood stage and enter into an unknown land to 31 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:26,490 Speaker 1: take possession of it, knowing it was already occupied by 32 00:02:26,570 --> 00:02:32,310 Speaker 1: militant people groups. That required a great deal of faith. 33 00:02:33,389 --> 00:02:37,010 Speaker 1: Faith the Lord had lovingly built into their souls in 34 00:02:37,050 --> 00:02:40,030 Speaker 1: the four decades prior as he led them day by 35 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: day and year by year through the wilderness. His people followed, 36 00:02:45,419 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: not knowing what lay ahead. When they looked about, all 37 00:02:48,340 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: they could see was endless sand most of the time 38 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: without a stream, lake, or fruit tree in sight. Basing 39 00:02:55,780 --> 00:02:58,530 Speaker 1: their faith on their circumstances could have stalled their feet. 40 00:02:59,250 --> 00:03:02,370 Speaker 1: It had their parents before them. Although their parents had 41 00:03:02,430 --> 00:03:06,510 Speaker 1: experienced the Lord's miraculous provision and protection, when it came 42 00:03:06,570 --> 00:03:09,670 Speaker 1: time to grab hold of his provision, they shrank back 43 00:03:09,750 --> 00:03:13,340 Speaker 1: in fear because they allowed the challenge before them to 44 00:03:13,380 --> 00:03:17,070 Speaker 1: grow bigger in their minds and than the God who 45 00:03:17,130 --> 00:03:20,669 Speaker 1: remained with them. The result? The people didn't receive the 46 00:03:20,750 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: rest the Lord promised and had fully prepared for them. Instead, 47 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: they wandered around in the desert for another 14,600 days. 48 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: Yet even then, God remained faithful. Faithfully present, faithfully loving 49 00:03:39,540 --> 00:03:44,530 Speaker 1: and merciful, and faithfully sufficient for their every need. And now, 50 00:03:44,830 --> 00:03:49,890 Speaker 1: four decades later, this next generation who'd spent their formative 51 00:03:50,070 --> 00:03:53,650 Speaker 1: years watching their parents' inability or maybe refusal to trust, 52 00:03:54,430 --> 00:03:58,630 Speaker 1: now this next generation received something of a do-over, the 53 00:03:58,740 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: opportunity to succeed in the exact instance in which their 54 00:04:03,140 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: mothers and fathers had failed. And notice how God called 55 00:04:08,020 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: them to action with a promise that through their obedience, 56 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: they'd experience the supernatural. But first, they needed to consecrate themselves. 57 00:04:21,140 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: That was a tangible way for them to show their 58 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,070 Speaker 1: commitment to follow God, to increase their anticipation for him 59 00:04:27,110 --> 00:04:31,469 Speaker 1: to act, and to prepare themselves to receive the miracle. 60 00:04:31,529 --> 00:04:35,870 Speaker 1: Not just its unfolding, but what it meant. God would 61 00:04:36,089 --> 00:04:39,610 Speaker 1: use that experience to challenge and deepen their faith by 62 00:04:39,790 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: putting his power on display. to prepare them for the 63 00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: assignments to come. I imagine for the priests who led 64 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: the way, that first step was the hardest. To enter 65 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:54,930 Speaker 1: the promised land, they needed to place their feet in 66 00:04:54,970 --> 00:04:57,810 Speaker 1: the Jordan with its rushing water that could easily sweep 67 00:04:57,910 --> 00:05:02,589 Speaker 1: them away with its swirling currents, that could easily kill them. Yet, 68 00:05:03,110 --> 00:05:07,890 Speaker 1: they obeyed. And that's when the miracle occurred. Scripture tells 69 00:05:08,029 --> 00:05:12,919 Speaker 1: us in Joshua 3, verses 16 through 17, the water 70 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,100 Speaker 1: from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap 71 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: a great distance away at a town called Adam in 72 00:05:18,420 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to 73 00:05:22,100 --> 00:05:24,850 Speaker 1: the sea of the Ereba, that is, the Dead Sea, 74 00:05:24,970 --> 00:05:29,610 Speaker 1: was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 75 00:05:30,270 --> 00:05:32,210 Speaker 1: The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of 76 00:05:32,250 --> 00:05:34,430 Speaker 1: the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and 77 00:05:34,490 --> 00:05:39,380 Speaker 1: stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until 78 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. 79 00:05:44,300 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: This mirrored how their parents began their faith journey 40 80 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: years prior, crossing an uncrossable body of water at God's 81 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 1: command and by his hand. That wasn't coincidental. The Lord 82 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: brought both generations to a situation that would have made 83 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:04,870 Speaker 1: them starkly aware of their human limitations. Once they realized 84 00:06:05,050 --> 00:06:09,330 Speaker 1: just how insufficient their wisdom and strength, their ability in 85 00:06:09,390 --> 00:06:12,930 Speaker 1: general was for the task ahead, God Almighty moved in 86 00:06:12,970 --> 00:06:15,450 Speaker 1: and did what only he could do. He made a 87 00:06:15,470 --> 00:06:18,849 Speaker 1: way when they couldn't see one, a path forward that 88 00:06:18,910 --> 00:06:23,940 Speaker 1: hadn't previously existed. Here's what this means for us. We 89 00:06:23,980 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: can live our lives playing it safe and trying to 90 00:06:26,779 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: insulate ourselves from every what-if scenario, spending our later years 91 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: with the biggest what-if of all. What if I'd given 92 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: God all my yeses? Or we can acknowledge our fear, 93 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,420 Speaker 1: invite God to meet us in it, and choose to 94 00:06:43,540 --> 00:06:50,339 Speaker 1: follow him timidly yet courageously into the unknown. That, my friends, 95 00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:54,780 Speaker 1: is how we experience the miraculous and the thriving life 96 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,480 Speaker 1: Christ promised. That's also how we gain courage for the 97 00:06:58,540 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: journey and learn to trust God with our every step. 98 00:07:03,130 --> 00:07:06,070 Speaker 1: And so here's my challenge. What is God inviting you 99 00:07:06,089 --> 00:07:10,130 Speaker 1: to say yes to in this season? And will you 100 00:07:10,250 --> 00:07:15,550 Speaker 1: trust him with your next brave step? Before we pray, 101 00:07:15,570 --> 00:07:17,869 Speaker 1: I want to invite you to follow me on social 102 00:07:17,890 --> 00:07:23,490 Speaker 1: media for more faith-building content designed to help you live confidently, courageously, 103 00:07:24,030 --> 00:07:27,540 Speaker 1: and humbly aligned with Christ and his unique will for 104 00:07:27,580 --> 00:07:30,980 Speaker 1: your life. Just Google my name, Jennifer Slattery, and you'll 105 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,890 Speaker 1: find me. And can I say, his will for you 106 00:07:35,490 --> 00:07:41,830 Speaker 1: is good, hopeful, and deeply fulfilling. In other words, you 107 00:07:41,870 --> 00:07:48,300 Speaker 1: will not regret giving him your yes. Let's pray. Holy Father, 108 00:07:48,340 --> 00:07:52,180 Speaker 1: we want to begin by acknowledging some important truths we 109 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:56,940 Speaker 1: know about you, about your character, about who you are. 110 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:07,250 Speaker 1: You are faithful, righteous, attentive, brilliant, strategic, present, all-powerful. You 111 00:08:07,290 --> 00:08:10,910 Speaker 1: are always with us, and you always have our best 112 00:08:10,970 --> 00:08:15,910 Speaker 1: in mind. You are a benevolent God who graciously provides 113 00:08:15,990 --> 00:08:20,489 Speaker 1: for your children, who lovingly meets us in our insecurities, 114 00:08:20,630 --> 00:08:24,470 Speaker 1: our wrestling, our doubts, our disillusionment, our discouragement, our fears, 115 00:08:24,610 --> 00:08:27,810 Speaker 1: all of it. And you invite us to turn to 116 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:35,010 Speaker 1: you because You want to experience a deep, authentic relationship 117 00:08:35,309 --> 00:08:40,390 Speaker 1: with us. And sometimes relationships can get messy. We can 118 00:08:40,460 --> 00:08:44,860 Speaker 1: be messy. But that's where the transformation, the growth, and 119 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,700 Speaker 1: the beauty occurs as well. When we bring our messiness 120 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:52,890 Speaker 1: to you. You don't ask us to clean it all up. 121 00:08:52,900 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: You don't ask us to clean ourselves up. You don't 122 00:08:55,050 --> 00:08:57,730 Speaker 1: ask us to muster our own courage or strength. You 123 00:08:57,770 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: know that we can't. You just ask us to come, 124 00:09:01,780 --> 00:09:05,949 Speaker 1: to meet with you, to rest in you, to rely 125 00:09:06,450 --> 00:09:11,450 Speaker 1: on you, and to trust in you. And sometimes trust 126 00:09:11,530 --> 00:09:17,370 Speaker 1: and fear coexist. And in those moments, we choose to 127 00:09:17,470 --> 00:09:22,690 Speaker 1: let trust lead our steps, not our fear. Acknowledging that 128 00:09:22,710 --> 00:09:26,820 Speaker 1: it might feel uncomfortable, and it's okay, because there's growth 129 00:09:27,020 --> 00:09:31,069 Speaker 1: in the discomfort. And so we ask that you would 130 00:09:31,150 --> 00:09:34,230 Speaker 1: meet us today in whatever we're struggling with, whatever we're 131 00:09:34,250 --> 00:09:37,770 Speaker 1: wrestling with, that you would remind us of who you are, 132 00:09:37,790 --> 00:09:42,339 Speaker 1: that you would remind us of your faithfulness in every 133 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:46,820 Speaker 1: moment prior to this point, that you would remind us 134 00:09:47,620 --> 00:09:52,380 Speaker 1: of your heart, that you would help us experience your presence, 135 00:09:52,420 --> 00:09:56,130 Speaker 1: help us to sense your presence and your love. Thank 136 00:09:56,150 --> 00:09:58,069 Speaker 1: you that you guide us even when we don't know 137 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,650 Speaker 1: You're guiding us. And when we do veer off path, 138 00:10:02,510 --> 00:10:09,980 Speaker 1: you gently, lovingly, faithfully nudge us back on course. Because 139 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: that's the type of father you are. Merciful, gracious, gentle, compassionate. 140 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:25,390 Speaker 1: understanding and so present. We love you and we praise you. 141 00:10:26,150 --> 00:10:28,990 Speaker 1: And it's in the name of your Son, our Savior, 142 00:10:29,050 --> 00:10:31,300 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen.