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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to have you

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Speaker 2: listening with us. Today's topic is about Christ's grace and

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Speaker 2: help for those of us who experience anxiety. We'll return

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Speaker 2: with the devotional after a brief message from our sponsors.

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Speaker 2: How Jesus responds to our anxiety, Written and read by

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Speaker 2: Jennifer Slattery. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You

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Speaker 2: believe in God, Believe also in me John fourteen, Verse one.

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Speaker 2: As someone with a long history of anxiety, I used

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Speaker 2: to feel guilt and condemnation when I read today's verse

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Speaker 2: and others like it. I knew Scripture told me in

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Speaker 2: numerous places not to fear. I understood the importance of

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Speaker 2: taking my thoughts captive. I also recognized that I'd remained

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Speaker 2: stuck in my overwhelm and whatever habitual battle I faced

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Speaker 2: unless I allowed the Lord to transform me. As I

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Speaker 2: intentionally renewed my mind with God's unchanging truth. Yet I

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Speaker 2: consistently found myself enslaved to my spinning anxious thoughts that

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Speaker 2: felt far too strong to counter or correct. My problem

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Speaker 2: was twofold. First, I expected instant healing and freedom. I thought,

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Speaker 2: if I said the right prayers, memorized enough scripture, and

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Speaker 2: chose to yield my circumstances to Christ. Bam, He'd instantly

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Speaker 2: erase all the lies and doubts fueling my fears and

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Speaker 2: flood my brain and soul with his promises, which of

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Speaker 2: course would stick indefinitely. Second, I misread Jesus's invitation to

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Speaker 2: trust as a harsh pmand that brought him frustration when

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Speaker 2: not lived out. But a savior is gentle and humble

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Speaker 2: in heart, and longs to provide rest, not guilt and

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Speaker 2: shame to our souls. Matthew eleven, verse twenty eight. When

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Speaker 2: I read John chapter fourteen through that lens, I see

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Speaker 2: Christ's words as tender reassurance, spoken from a place of

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Speaker 2: compassionate awareness that fearful times lay ahead. The context of

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Speaker 2: today's verse supports this. If you're familiar with the events

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Speaker 2: surrounding Christ's crucifixion, you might recognize the circumstances surrounding his words.

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Speaker 2: On the night before his death, he gathered his disciples

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Speaker 2: in an upper room to celebrate the Passover. During this

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Speaker 2: sacred meal, he predicted several unsettling things he'd soon leave,

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Speaker 2: and they couldn't come. One of them would betray him.

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Speaker 2: They'd all abandon him in his most painful moment, and

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Speaker 2: Peter would deny three times that he even knew him.

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Speaker 2: But notice how Jesus' book ended this difficult information. He

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Speaker 2: began the chapter with today's verse following them not to

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Speaker 2: let their hearts be troubled, but instead to trust in him.

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Speaker 2: Then in verse twenty seven he repeated this with additional

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Speaker 2: details when he said, peace I leave with you. My

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Speaker 2: peace I give you. I do not give to you

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Speaker 2: as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled,

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Speaker 2: and do not be afraid intersecting life and faith peace.

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Speaker 2: Biblically speaking, this word Raine in the original Greek, goes

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Speaker 2: deeper than emotional tranquility. It signifies wholeness, well being, and

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Speaker 2: things as they should be. And notice this soul state

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Speaker 2: comes from Him, not our frantic efforts to change or

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Speaker 2: heal ourselves. Yes, we must do our part by consistently

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Speaker 2: turning to Him through prayer, Bible reading, silent meditation, and

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Speaker 2: practicing other spiritual discipline. Scripture also encourages us to learn

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Speaker 2: how to rely on and yield to the Holy Spirit

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Speaker 2: more consistently, and to do our best to obey however

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Speaker 2: he leads. Sometimes this requires prayerfully considering ways we might

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Speaker 2: be actively blocking or hindering our ability to receive Christ's peace.

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Speaker 2: Notice the phrasing in Collasans three, verse fifteen, Let the

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Speaker 2: peace of Christ rule in your heart, since as members

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Speaker 2: of one body, you were called to peace and be thankful.

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Speaker 2: This seems to indicate that we already possess His peace

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Speaker 2: but haven't given it full rain. For some reason, perhaps

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Speaker 2: we're held captive to an addiction that leads to regretful

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Speaker 2: behavior and damaged relationships and the inner angst both scenarios create.

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Speaker 2: Or maybe we're spending far more time reading fear mongering

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Speaker 2: clickbait articles than we are truth. Or we might feel

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Speaker 2: reluctant to take medication our brain needs to optimally function. Most,

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Speaker 2: if not all, of us tend to experience some degree

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Speaker 2: of self deception. Because of this, I found it helpful

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Speaker 2: to pray Psalm one thirty nine Versus twenty three to

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Speaker 2: twenty four, which reads, Search me God and know my heart,

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Speaker 2: Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there's

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Speaker 2: any offensive way in me, and lead me in the

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Speaker 2: way everlasting. The New American Standard Bible phrases the last

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Speaker 2: line in this passage this way, see if there is

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Speaker 2: any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the

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Speaker 2: everlasting way. Understand, I don't pray this from a place

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Speaker 2: of feel or shame. Rather, I'm asking the one who

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Speaker 2: knows me better than I know myself and sees the

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Speaker 2: most hidden places in my soul, to reveal those things

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Speaker 2: within me that hinder my freedom. This is a request

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Speaker 2: he loves to answer because it positions me for the

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Speaker 2: deep transformation. I need to experience the beyond expectations thriving

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Speaker 2: life he promised in John ten, verse ten. Because only

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Speaker 2: the Prince of Peace holds the power to calm and

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Speaker 2: strengthen my wounded and fearful soul, He longs to do

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Speaker 2: the same for you. The more you connect with, listen,

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Speaker 2: to learn from, and follow him, the easier it becomes

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Speaker 2: to believe in him, as today's verse invites you to do.

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Speaker 2: And the more we believe in him trusting his power,

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Speaker 2: promises and heart, the greater our piece.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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