1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily 2 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day 3 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: to learn more about God and his will for us. 4 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jennifer Slattery, and after this short word 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: from our sponsors, we'll dive into today's Bible verse Psalm 6 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: seventy eight to twenty. Today's Bible verses Psalm seventy eight 7 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: twenty True. He struck the rock and water gust out 8 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: streams flowed abundantly, But can he also give us bread? 9 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: Can he supply meat for his people when problems hit? 10 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: When a crisis hits, I find it much too easy 11 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: to get swept into catastrophic thinking that only heightens my 12 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: panic and sense of threat. Despite decades of God's provision 13 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: and protection and irrefutable displays of His power and grace, 14 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: I begin to view the problem in front of me 15 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: as well, different than all those the Lord carried me 16 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: through prior. My thinking brain temporarily goes offline, but I'm 17 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: learning I don't have to remain stuck in unhelpful reactions 18 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: and patterns. I can and will learn to recognize the 19 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,960 Speaker 1: early signs of emotional overwhelm. Pause to calm my internal 20 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 1: alarm system and turn to the one who remains present 21 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: in my peace and panic in seasons of faith and doubt. 22 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: I'm learning to follow the example set in the passage 23 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: surrounding today's verse. The heading indicates the author and tended 24 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: his words as worship that reinforced important truths, truths that, 25 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: when recited and reflected upon, would anchor ancient israel souls 26 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: in the goodness and power God. With time and repetition, 27 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: these praiseful assertions would have helped God's people experience greater 28 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: peace and less anxiety and fear in their lives, regardless 29 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: of how chaotic their situation appeared. The Psalmist began with 30 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: an invitation to consider their history as a parable or 31 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: life lesson that, when understood and applied, would lead them 32 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 1: to greater relational intimacy with and trust in their attentive Father. 33 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: Here my teaching. Listen to my words, he wrote in 34 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: verse one, meaning meditate upon them, considering our propensity to 35 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: wonder from God's truth, meaning meditate upon them. And maybe 36 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: he was thinking of our propensity to wonder from God's truth, 37 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: to downplay his miracles and doubt his care. In verse four, 38 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: the Psalmist urged the people to proclaim God's deeds to 39 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: the next generation, which is also a powerful way to 40 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: proclaim those truths to ourselves. The more we express all 41 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: the ways the Lord has faithfully cared for us individually, 42 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: our communities, and humanity as a whole, the deeper those 43 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: truths sink into our souls, steadily displacing our fears and doubts. 44 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: May we learn to rehearse God's goodness more than we 45 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: do our anxious thoughts. That's a challenging shift that becomes 46 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: easier through practice. This helps rewire our brains, a phenomenon 47 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,679 Speaker 1: known as neural plasticity. It also neutralizes the enemy's schemes 48 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: while making our souls more alert to God's presence, more 49 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: sensitive to his voice, and aware of his hand in 50 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: our lives and our world. And notice the result, as 51 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: stated in verse seven, Then they would put their trust 52 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: in God and would not forget his deeds, but would 53 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: keep his commands. We cannot trust what we don't know, 54 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: and it's incredibly hard to follow someone we don't trust, 55 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: this suggests, and we best counter our disobedience not by 56 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: assessing on rules or wrote adherence, but instead by connecting 57 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: more deeply, more authentically, and more reflectively with the one 58 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: who planted the first seeds of faith in our souls 59 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: and promised to nurture those seeds into beautiful fruit. As 60 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: we sit in his presence, expressing our inner chaos to him, 61 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 1: our sensitivity to his voice increases, making us more receptive 62 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: to his truth. He meets us in that vulnerable place, 63 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: not with words of rebuke or condemnation, but rather with 64 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: his steadying love and grace. As he reminds us of 65 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: his power and ways. We shift from seeing today's problems 66 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: as unique and insurmountable and instead is normal aspects of 67 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:49,080 Speaker 1: a life forever dominated not by heartache and hardship, but 68 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: rather the Lord's faithful care. We go from sure, God 69 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: helped me last time I experienced a financial crisis, but 70 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: this situation is different and hopeless too. Although the problem 71 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: before me feels overwhelming, I know nothing wields more power 72 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: than my Almighty God. He's provided for me before and 73 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: will do so again for me. This looks like recognizing 74 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: when anxiety and fear first take hold, asking God to 75 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: help me sense his presence, and resting in that space 76 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: until inner calm returns. Then I intentionally reflect on his 77 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: unchanging truths in all the ways he's proven himself faithful 78 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: in the past. I allow those experiences to serve as 79 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: parables life lessons that strengthen and anchor my soul, as 80 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: today's passage encourages, may those experiences service parables as life 81 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,279 Speaker 1: lessons that strengthen and anchor our souls. This can also 82 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: look like regularly rehearing through song and speech God's goodness, 83 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: knowing each time we do so, we're not just increasing 84 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: our peace today, we're fortifying our faith in preparation for 85 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: tomorrow's challenge. I invite you to join me in making 86 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 1: these steps a regular practice that will increase your trust 87 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: and confidence in God, moment by moment and day by day. Ultimately, 88 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: so long as we continually turn to Him, seek his perspective, 89 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: rest in his presence, listen for his voice, and follow 90 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:33,160 Speaker 1: how he leads, he will necessarily lead us to increased 91 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: peace despite whatever chaos in which we find ourselves. Let's pray, 92 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: Holy Father, you are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 93 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: the one who spoke galaxies into existence, who brings life 94 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: and light and hope. You speak those words into our 95 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: souls as well. You bring about that fruit into our 96 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: lives as well. You understand when we get overwhelmed, when 97 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: we're anxious and afraid, and you don't fault us for it. 98 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: You don't distance yourselves from us. When we're in a 99 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: state of overwhelming stead You move close, and we thank 100 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: you for that. Help us to sense your presence, Train 101 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: us to turn to you when we're afraid, when we're overwhelmed, 102 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: when we're hurting, when we're angry. Encourage us, Remind us 103 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: to sit in your presence, even if we only have 104 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: a moment, to sense your presence, to sense your love 105 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: and your peace and your grace washing over us, and 106 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: in that place, speak truth to our anxious heart. Speak 107 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: the truth that reminds us of who you are. All powerful, 108 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: all knowing, all loving, perfectly faithful, ever present. You are 109 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: with us in every moment. You provide everything we need 110 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: to live the life you designed for us, and we 111 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: know it's a good life because you promised that you 112 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: had our good in mind. Increase our trust for you, 113 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: Increase our trust in you, Increase our peace, quiet our fears, 114 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: remove our anxiety, Steady us with your unchanging truth. Thank 115 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: you for never leaving, never forsaking, always protecting, always guiding, 116 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: always defending, always blessing. We love you and we praise you. 117 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: And it's in the name of your son, our savior, 118 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:42,439 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, that we pray and met