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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily

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Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day

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Speaker 1: to learn more about God and his will for us.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Carol McCracken, and after a short word

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Speaker 1: from our sponsor, will dive into today's Bible verse, Zecharias

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Speaker 1: seven nine. Today's Bible verse is Zechariah seven nine. This

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Speaker 1: is what the Lord Almighty said, and minister true justice,

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Speaker 1: show mercy and compassion to one another. I recently had

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Speaker 1: some dental work done, one of those procedures that isn't small,

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Speaker 1: isn't quick, and definitely isn't cheap. I had a bridge

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Speaker 1: put in the back, and even with insurance, it was

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Speaker 1: a significant investment. Not long after, I was eating a

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Speaker 1: mint and it broke completely. It didn't loosen or shipped first,

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Speaker 1: it just broke. Honey, something wasn't right. When I went

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Speaker 1: back to dentist degree it shouldn't have happened. Still, I

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Speaker 1: found myself in that familiar internal tension. Do I say anything,

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Speaker 1: do I push back? Or do I just absorb the cost?

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Speaker 1: In Milan, as Christians, we sometimes confused being gracious with

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Speaker 1: being passive. So I spoke up kindly, but clearly, I said,

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Speaker 1: I don't think I should have to pay for this.

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Speaker 1: To their credit, they responded, well, they agreed to work

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Speaker 1: with me and wrote off eighty percent of the cost.

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Speaker 1: But that a bill showed up anyway, and once again

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Speaker 1: I felt that tension rise. Do I let it go?

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Speaker 1: Do I just pay it? I don't want to be

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Speaker 1: difficult this time. I waited overnight, not out of avoidance,

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Speaker 1: but out of wisdom. I didn't want to respond from frustration.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to respond from clarity. So I called next

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Speaker 1: day and immediately they said, oh, that was a mistake,

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Speaker 1: we missed an adjustment. Throw the bill away. Done. But

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Speaker 1: here's the deeper question this race for me and maybe

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Speaker 1: for you too, Wendy's stand up as a Christian and

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Speaker 1: how do you do it in a way that honors God.

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Speaker 1: To answer that, we need to understand the context of Zechariah.

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Speaker 1: Zechariah was a prophet speaking to God's people after they

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Speaker 1: had returned from exile. They were rebuilding everything, their city,

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Speaker 1: their lives in the temple, but somewhere along the way

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Speaker 1: their focus shifted to religious rituals, fasting traditions, and other

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Speaker 1: outward expressions of faith. So they asked it a question,

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Speaker 1: should we keep doing these rituals? And God's responds through

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Speaker 1: Zechariah's striking, He essentially tells them they're asking the wrong question.

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Speaker 1: Instead of focusing on a ritual, God redirects them to

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Speaker 1: something deeper. How they treat people administer true justice showing compassion. Now,

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Speaker 1: the Hebrew idea behind true justice points to paredess that

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Speaker 1: reflects God's character, not just human preference. And what's important

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Speaker 1: here is that justice and mercy aren't opposites. They're meant

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Speaker 1: to work together. God is saying, you don't have to

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Speaker 1: choose between being kind and being just. You're called to

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Speaker 1: be both. And that's where we often get stuck. Some

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Speaker 1: of us lean towards mercy. We don't want to rock

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Speaker 1: the boat, so we stay quiet even when something isn't right.

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Speaker 1: Others leaning toward justice, we speak up, but without gentleness,

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Speaker 1: and it can come across as harsher self protective rather

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Speaker 1: than God honoring. But this verse holds him together justice, mercy,

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Speaker 1: and compassion. That's the posture. Now you see this clearly

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Speaker 1: and how Jesus lived, and this is where it becomes

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Speaker 1: especially practical. In John two, when Jesus clears the temple.

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Speaker 1: He's not losing control. He's demonstrating controlled conviction. He sees

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Speaker 1: people being exploited in a place meant for worship, and

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Speaker 1: he acts decisively, but not selfishly. His response is measured,

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Speaker 1: purposeful and rooted and honoring God, not venting emotion. Then,

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Speaker 1: in Matthew eighteen, when he teaches about conflict, he gives

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Speaker 1: a process that protects both truth and relationship. Go directly,

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Speaker 1: go privately, and aim for restoration. The goal isn't to

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Speaker 1: win or to prove a point, it's to bring things

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Speaker 1: back into right relationship. And throughout the New Testament, the

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Speaker 1: apostle Paul reinforces this same balance In Ephesians four fifteen.

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Speaker 1: He tells us to speak the truth and love, which

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Speaker 1: means truth without love becomes harsh, and love without truth

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Speaker 1: becomes hollow. Real maturity is learning how to hold both

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Speaker 1: at the same time. So what does this look like

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Speaker 1: in real life? It looks a lot like what happened

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Speaker 1: in the dental office. It wasn't about demanding or threatening,

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Speaker 1: but it also was at passive. It was simply stating

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Speaker 1: what was true. This shouldn't have happened. I don't believe

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Speaker 1: I should have to pay for this, and just as importantly,

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Speaker 1: it was handled with patience instead of reactivity. Waiting overnight

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Speaker 1: and I have been one of the most important spiritual

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Speaker 1: parts of the entire interaction, because how you stand up

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Speaker 1: matters just as much as whether you stand up. Here's

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Speaker 1: a simple grid you can use when you find yourself

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Speaker 1: in a similar situation. First, try asking is this a

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Speaker 1: matter of truth or preference? Not everything requires a response,

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Speaker 1: but when something gets genuinely unjust, it's appropriate to address it. Second,

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Speaker 1: am I responding or reacting? A spirit led response is calm,

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Speaker 1: clear and grounded, while a reaction is usually fueled by emotion. Third,

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Speaker 1: can I communicate both truth and grace? Not one or

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Speaker 1: the other both. So here's the takeaway I want you

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Speaker 1: to hold on to today. Standing up for what's right

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Speaker 1: is not un christianlike the way you stand up determines

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Speaker 1: whether it reflects christ. You don't have to shrink back

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Speaker 1: to be spiritual, and you don't have to push hard

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Speaker 1: to be effective. You can be firm without being forceful,

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Speaker 1: clear without being cutting, and confident without being combative. That's

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Speaker 1: what Zechariah is pointing is toward a faith that doesn't

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Speaker 1: just show up in rituals, but in real life interactions,

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Speaker 1: even something as ordinary as a dental bill, because those

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Speaker 1: everyday moments are where your faith is actually lived out.

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Speaker 1: And here's what struck me afterward. If I had stayed quiet,

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't have been more spiritual. I would have just

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Speaker 1: been silently resentful and still out them money. But when

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Speaker 1: I spoke with clarity and calm, it created space for

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Speaker 1: the right thing to happen. And that's the tension we

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Speaker 1: live in. It's not about staying silent, and it's not

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Speaker 1: about forcing your way through. It's about faithfulness. So today,

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Speaker 1: if you're facing a situation where you're wondering should I

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Speaker 1: say something, pause, pray, and then speak with truth, mercy

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Speaker 1: and compassion, because sometimes the most christ Like thing you

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Speaker 1: can do isn't distant quiet, it's to speak in a

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Speaker 1: way that reflects Him. So will you pray with me,

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Speaker 1: Dear Lord and Heaven, thank you for the dental lesson.

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Speaker 1: It's not something that I would have picked, but Lord,

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Speaker 1: you allowed me to listen to you and handle it properly.

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Speaker 1: That's the kind of tension that's uncomfortable, and sometimes as

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Speaker 1: Christians we have to be uncomfortable. Lord, help guide us,

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Speaker 1: because sometimes if we're practicing a news skill is hard.

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Speaker 1: The Lord, your word is quite clear, but there's the

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Speaker 1: tension that we live in between it and everyday life,

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Speaker 1: to where something is equally as insignificant as creating a

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Speaker 1: whole universe happens in a dental office. You do big things, Lord,

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Speaker 1: but you do care about the details. Help us learn

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Speaker 1: how to represent you well in those small details. And

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Speaker 1: your precious name, we pray Ahmed