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

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Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is on trusting

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Speaker 1: God when it feels like I'm goodly, behavior branks success.

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Speaker 1: We'll return with the devotional after a brief message from

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Speaker 1: our sponsors when we feel discouraged by the evil in

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Speaker 1: our world. Written and read by Jennifer Slattery. But as

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Speaker 1: for me, my feet had almost slipped. I had nearly

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Speaker 1: lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I

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Speaker 1: saw the prosperity of the wicked, Psalm seventy three, verses

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Speaker 1: two to three. Some time ago, I met with a

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Speaker 1: sweet woman trying to heal from some emotional wounds because

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Speaker 1: of past harm, She struggled to trust others and feel

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Speaker 1: safe in relationships. Relatively new in her faith and transformation journey,

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Speaker 1: she was just beginning to make sense of her emotions

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Speaker 1: and inner world. As her understanding grew, so did her anger.

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Speaker 1: This multiplied when she learned the person who most harmed

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Speaker 1: her had slandered her to others, causing some to misjudge

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Speaker 1: her and others to withdraw completely. She felt like she

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Speaker 1: would never break free from her pain and bitterness. Worse,

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Speaker 1: her offender didn't seem to suffer any consequences for their actions.

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Speaker 1: The person actually seemed to be thriving. Have you been

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Speaker 1: there watching someone else treat others with ruthless cruelty and

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Speaker 1: not only get away with it, but benefit from your

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Speaker 1: pain and the wreckage they caused. We can all probably

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Speaker 1: think of situations in which injustice left us deeply wounded,

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Speaker 1: wondering why God allowed us to experience such pain. We've

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Speaker 1: also probably watched others seem to get away with horrendous

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Speaker 1: behavior while our suffering only increases. That was precisely how Asap,

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Speaker 1: the royal musician who penn Psalm seventy three felt. We

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Speaker 1: don't know when he wrote this passage, but if this

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Speaker 1: is the same Asap who served during the time of

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Speaker 1: King David, he may have been watching the betrayal David

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Speaker 1: experienced at the hand of his son, or maybe the

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Speaker 1: wickedness he refers to hit closer to home. His words

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Speaker 1: might also stem from a more existential reflection from considering

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Speaker 1: the world at large. At times, it does seem like

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Speaker 1: the wealthy, powerful, and unscrupulous thribe with little worries or pain,

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Speaker 1: while we fall into one crisis after another, and in

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Speaker 1: those seasons when someone else's success seems to mock our pain,

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Speaker 1: it's easy to question the heart, promises and plans of God. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: if we cease tending to our souls, our sorrow can

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Speaker 1: turn into disillusionment and eventually bitterness. Our inner angst can

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Speaker 1: turn us from rather than two the one who knows

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Speaker 1: us fully, loves us deeply, and is always working on

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Speaker 1: our behalf. When we sense ourselves tiptoeing toward disillusionment and despair,

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Speaker 1: we can follow Acep's example, as revealed in verses sixteen

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Speaker 1: through seventeen. Initially, he attempted to make sense of his

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Speaker 1: circumstances on his own. This only increased his inner angst.

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Speaker 1: But then in the next verse we read quote till

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Speaker 1: I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their

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Speaker 1: final destiny end quote. He intentionally turned to God. I

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Speaker 1: don't know how far he needed to travel to reach

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Speaker 1: the temple, but this required effort and determination. It also

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Speaker 1: meant setting aside whatever other tasks he wanted to complete

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Speaker 1: that day. When we're hurting, frightened, or struggling with doubt,

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Speaker 1: it's easy to get stuck in our heads as we

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Speaker 1: rehearse all the evils we've experienced or seen. The more

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Speaker 1: we ruminate on what feels hard and uncertain, the more

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Speaker 1: powerless and discouraged and potentially even abandoned we feel, and

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Speaker 1: our mind rarely remains focused on the inciting incident. Often,

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Speaker 1: one negative thought leads to another, then another, until we're

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Speaker 1: overwhelmed words. All of this unmitigated introspection can pull us

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Speaker 1: further from God, which only increases our fear or despair.

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Speaker 1: But the converse occurs us well when we turn to God,

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Speaker 1: seek his presence and authentically engage with him. And like

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Speaker 1: I said earlier, unmitigated introspection can pull us further from God,

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Speaker 1: which only increases our fear or despair, But the converse

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Speaker 1: occurs us well. When we turn to God, seek his

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Speaker 1: presence and authentically engage with him. He meets us in

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Speaker 1: the intensity of our emotions and speaks clarity to our confusion,

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Speaker 1: truth to our doubts, and surrounds us with his love.

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Speaker 1: Did you catch how the Lord did this? For Asaf

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Speaker 1: In God's sanctuary, the place in which his presence dwelt,

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Speaker 1: he gained faith, building understanding. Yes, the wicked seemed to

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Speaker 1: thry without any concerns or consequences. But justice would come,

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Speaker 1: and Asaf would experience God's goodness. Notice how he ended

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Speaker 1: his poetic prayer and verses twenty three to twenty six,

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Speaker 1: we read, yet I am always with you. You hold

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Speaker 1: me by my right hand, You guide me with your counsel,

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Speaker 1: and afterward you will take me into glory. Who have

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Speaker 1: I in heaven? But you? And earth has nothing I

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Speaker 1: desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,

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Speaker 1: but God is the strength of my heart and my

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Speaker 1: portion forever. And then in verse twenty eight, but as

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Speaker 1: for me, it is good to be near God. I

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Speaker 1: have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge. Intersecting life and faith,

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Speaker 1: I don't know what you're going through currently, what feels

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Speaker 1: heavy and unfair and unjust. But I do know God

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Speaker 1: sees you, loves you, and is for you. He won't

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Speaker 1: abandon you in your pain, nor will he allow the

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Speaker 1: wicked to thrive. Forever. He brings justice, healing, hope, and refuge.

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Speaker 1: If you're feeling disillusioned by someone else's sinful behavior, bring

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Speaker 1: your emotions unfiltered to God and trust him to me

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Speaker 1: and to heal you. There to shield and uphold you

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Speaker 1: in His love before you sign off. If this episode

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Speaker 1: hit a tender place in your soul and you're struggling

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Speaker 1: to make sense of some relational patterns that are leading

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Speaker 1: to more anxiety than joy, visit The Faith Over for

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Speaker 1: Your Podcast to listen to my conversation with Jennifer Renee

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Speaker 1: Watson on the thread of people pleasing and how to

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Speaker 1: gain the confidence to tend to your soul when others

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Speaker 1: try to beat you down. That episode dropped on Mark's

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Speaker 1: third and is titled when People take Advantage of Your

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Speaker 1: kindness by Local Help for people Pleasing Again. You'll find

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Speaker 1: that on The Faith Over for your Podcast.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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Speaker 2: you heard today, we want to make sure you know

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Speaker 2: about our sister podcast, Your Daily Prayer. When you follow

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Speaker 2: a brand new prayer and devotional each day, so your

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Speaker 2: days begin in conversation with God. If you're looking to

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Speaker 2: grow in prayer or start your day with your heart

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Speaker 2: focused on the right things, search for your daily prayer

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Speaker 2: in your favorite podcast app and be sure to follow

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