1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily 2 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day 3 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: to learn more about God and his will for us. 4 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jennifer Slattery, and after this short word 5 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: from our sponsors, we'll dive into today's Bible Verse, Judges 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: two seven. Today's Bible vers is Judges two seven. The 7 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,599 Speaker 1: people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua, and 8 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: of the elders who outlived him and who have seen 9 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. 10 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: Some of you may have noticed I've spent several weeks 11 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: in Judges. I began studying this book to deepen my 12 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: understanding of God's grace and today's verse. It reminds me 13 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: that trust grows through consistent experience with a trustworthy God. 14 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: Put simply, we cannot trust the one we don't know. 15 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: My faith journey reflects this truth. Early on, when difficulties hit, 16 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: I'd get instantly sucked into an anxious spiral. When financial 17 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: difficulties came or I felt my safety threatened, I often 18 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: behaved like an orphan. I acted as if I was 19 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: all alone and therefore forced to navigate my problems In 20 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: my wisdom and strength. But God has been so so 21 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:37,320 Speaker 1: faithful to lead, guide, and provide when I turned to 22 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:39,199 Speaker 1: him in faith, and when I get stuck in my head, 23 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: and even when I raised my fists at Him in 24 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: frustration or anger. Throughout my life, He has been faithful. 25 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: Each of those interventions increased my trust, helping me to 26 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: recognize that I truly am His beloved daughter, secure in 27 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: his care. The people alive during the time of Joshua 28 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: seemed to have learned a similar lesson. For four decades, 29 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: and for many during their most formative years, these men 30 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: and women followed God into the unknown, trusting his faithful care. 31 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: They didn't need a map to their destination to stay safe. 32 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: They didn't need to fret about the next meal or 33 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: sip of water, or stress about any wild animals or 34 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: militant people groups they might encounter. Day by day, The 35 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: Lord showed them that they didn't need to anticipate and 36 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: control outcomes when living led by the Almighty. During those 37 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:35,959 Speaker 1: forty years, they received all they needed, miraculously provided bread 38 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: rained down from heaven for them to gather fresh each morning, 39 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: water made to gush from a rock they'd crossed the 40 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: Jordan river on dry ground during flood season and watched 41 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: the massive walls of Jericho crash to the ground. Equally formative, 42 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: they watched their parents respond to crisis with accusation and 43 00:02:55,919 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: complaint rather than trust. They'd also witnessed the consequences of 44 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: those responses. The clearest example came when Israel stood on 45 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: the edge of the promised land but refused to enter 46 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 1: because of fear. The result forty long and likely discouraging 47 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: years of wandering until the elders died and the historical 48 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: spotlight landed on the next generation, who chose to trust 49 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: and honor the God they'd come to know through all 50 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: those experiences. Their trust in the Lord was so solid 51 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: they obeyed one of the most unusual battle plans known 52 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: to man, marching around the heavily fortified city of Jericho 53 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: while the priests blew their trumpets an ancient marching band y'all, 54 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: and bam, the walls came tumbling down. A military strategy 55 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: got used to build this people's faith to thrive in 56 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: their new agriculturally abundant, yet occupied land. But then that 57 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: generation died and another followed, one who likely heard all 58 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: the miraculous stories, but had never never experienced the Lord's 59 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: intervention personally, and so it seems like those stories, those 60 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: miracles didn't quite penetrate. That grabs me because I see 61 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: a similar dynamic in my life. Nothing fortifies my soul 62 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: quite like experiencing God's rescue when I'm the one facing 63 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,799 Speaker 1: a figurative army or a raging river. I love hearing 64 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: miracle stories. I love celebrating all the ways God cares 65 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: for my brothers and sisters in Christ, and yes, each 66 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 1: one positively impacts my faith. Yet even those supernatural experiences 67 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: can mentally fade over time. We counter this tendency in 68 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: two ways. First by intentionally rehearsing the ways God has protected, defended, comforted, 69 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: and provided for us in the past, and second by 70 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: depending on Him rather than ourselves in times of crisis. 71 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: Both build within us a faith strong enough to stay 72 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: in firm through tomorrow's challenges. Maybe this week, spend some 73 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: time reflecting on some of the ways the Lord has 74 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: proven himself faithful to you in the past. Remember the 75 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: intensity of your fear or concern as you cried out 76 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: for rescue, along with the sweet relief and praise that 77 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,479 Speaker 1: filled your soul once you are standing on the other 78 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: side of that rescue and thank him afresh for who 79 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 1: he is and will always be the one who fights 80 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: for you, surrounds you, loves you, and will never leave. 81 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: Speaking of miracle stories, I have the opportunity to hold 82 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: the conversation with Tim Timmins, who often tours with Mercy Me, 83 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: regarding God's intervention in his stage four cancer diagnosis. You're 84 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: going to want to catch that episode for sure on 85 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: the Faith Over Fear podcast. Unfortunately, I don't yet know 86 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: when that episode will drop, but I can tell you 87 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: it is coming. And now let's pray, Holy Father, we 88 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: are just in awe of your mercy and your grace, 89 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: or we pray that you would undo any messages we 90 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: have received that tell us we have to have immediate faith, 91 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: we have to have perfect faith, or that when we struggle, 92 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: when we have anxiety and fear, that we simply don't 93 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: have enough faith. Remind us that trust is built over time, 94 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: and remind us that you are the one that is 95 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: building our trust. You are the one teaching us to 96 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: connect more deeply with you. You are the one who 97 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:38,840 Speaker 1: ignites our faith, who transforms our soul, who softens our hearts, 98 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:41,719 Speaker 1: who opens our ears that we might hear you, who 99 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 1: teaches us to recognize your voice, and who gives us 100 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: the desire to obey Holy Spirit. We ask that you 101 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: would purify our souls anything that is standing in your way. 102 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: We pray that you would remove that. We pray that 103 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: you would open our eyes that we may see your heart, 104 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: your hand, your purposes, your power. Lord God, help us 105 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: to see you at work in our lives. And may 106 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: we reflect on every evidence of your grace that you provide. 107 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: May we meditate on those moments deeply to maximize the 108 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: trust that you are building in our souls. Increase our faith, Lord, 109 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: increase our trusts. Heal whatever wounds are getting in the way. 110 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: Close our ears to all deception, Increase our ears to 111 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: hear you, Increase our spiritual sensitivity to you, Increase our 112 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: desire to obey you. It is in the name of 113 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen. 114 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: Looking for a peaceful way to end your day, our 115 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: new sister, show your nightly scripture. Guide you each night 116 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: through a passage of scripture along with a calming devotional 117 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 1: and evening prayer. It's the perfect way to end your 118 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: day and help you sleep in peace. Your Nightly Scripture 119 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: is now available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen 120 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: to podcasts.