Today, we're nearing the end of David's life as our reading plan covers Second Samuel chapters twenty-two and twenty-three and Psalms fifty-seven and ninety-five. In our episode today, we'll meditate on a song that David wrote to give God credit for all the ways He delivered and redeemed him. And I can't help but notice when David was at his best. After we look at this passage together, we'll talk about why it's such good news for you as I deliver what I hope is a very encouraging counter-cultural response and application to you as a mom who might feel very busy, overwhelmed, and exhausted.

Today's Scripture from our Reading Plan: 2 Samuel 22-23, Psalm 57 and 95

Scripture Read or Referenced:

2 Samuel 22:2-51

Matthew 5:3

Luke 6:45

Do you feel hopeless, discouraged, or anxious in your parenting? Can God redeem those mistakes and give peace and hope for the future? Yes, He truly can! Entrusted with a Child's Heart can encourage you to embrace the fresh start God has for you. This quick episode explains how this biblical parenting study can guide moms, bless your church, and actually help the leaders! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-for-christian-moms-encouragement-in/id1700555502

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Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

Welcome to The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Today, we're nearing the end of David's

life as we read through Second Samuel

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chapters twenty-two and twenty-three

and Psalms fifty-seven and ninety-five.

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And we'll meditate on a song that David

wrote to give God credit for all the

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ways He delivered and redeemed him.

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I can't help but notice

when David was at his best.

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After we look at this passage together,

we'll talk about why that's such good news

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for you as I deliver what I hope is a very

encouraging counter-cultural response and

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application to you as a mom who might feel

very busy, overwhelmed, and exhausted.

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The passage I'd like to read over you

today is from Second Samuel twenty-two.

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It's longer, but so encouraging.

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It's nearly identical to Psalm eighteen,

and as I told you then, it's one of my

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very favorite psalms, so I'm more than

happy to revisit these powerful verses.

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There are elements that are

reminiscent to Hannah's prayer

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at the beginning of First Samuel.

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Remember that First and Second

Samuel were originally one book,

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but were divided because they

didn't fit on one scroll together.

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So the book of Samuel begins with Hannah's

prayer of humility, and then at the

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end, we have David's prayer of humility.

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The first section of this song of praise

will recount how God has delivered

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David from his enemies, and then it

transitions into why the Lord would

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give David such favor, and it concludes

with David's unrelenting commitment to

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praise God, not just among the nation

of Israel, but amongst all people.

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It begins:

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Speaker 42: The Lord is my rock and

my fortress and my deliverer, my God,

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my rock in whom I take refuge, my

shield and the horn of my salvation,

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my stronghold and my refuge, my savior.

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You save me from violence.

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I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be

praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

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For the waves of death encompassed me.

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The torrents of destruction assailed me.

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The cords of Sheol entangled me.

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The snares of death confronted me.

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In my distress, I called upon the Lord.

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To my God, I called.

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From His temple, He heard my

voice, and my cry came to His ears.

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Then the earth reeled and rocked.

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The foundations of the heavens trembled

and quaked because He was angry.

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Smoke went up from His nostrils

and devouring fire from His mouth.

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Glowing coals flamed forth from Him.

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He bowed the heavens and came down.

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Thick darkness was under His feet.

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He rode on a cherub and flew.

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He was seen on the wings of the wind.

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He made darkness around Him, His canopy,

thick clouds, a gathering of water.

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Out of the darkness before Him,

coals of fire flamed forth.

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The Lord thundered from heaven, and

the Most High uttered His voice.

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And He sent out arrows and scattered

them, lightning and routed them.

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Then the channels of the sea were seen.

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The foundations of the world were laid

bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the

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blast of the breath of His nostrils.

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He sent from on high.

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He took me He drew me out of many waters.

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He rescued me from my strong

enemy, from those who hated me,

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for they were too mighty for me.

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They confronted me in the day of

calamity, but the Lord was my support.

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He brought me out into a broad place.

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He rescued me because He delighted in me.

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The Lord dealt with me

according to my righteousness.

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According to the cleanness

of my hands, He rewarded me.

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For I have kept the ways of the Lord and

have not wickedly departed from my God.

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For all His rules were before me, and

from His statutes, I did not turn aside.

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I was blameless before Him and I kept

myself from guilt, and the Lord has

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rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to my cleanness in His sight.

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With the merciful, you

show yourself merciful.

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With the blameless man, you

show yourself blameless.

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With the purified, you deal

purely, and with the crooked,

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you make yourself seem torturous.

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You save a humble people, but your eyes

are on the haughty to bring them down.

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For you are my lamp, O God, and

my God lightens my darkness.

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For by you, I can run against a troop,

and by my God, I can leap over a wall.

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This God, His way is perfect.

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The word of the Lord proves true.

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He is a shield for all

who take refuge in Him.

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For who is God but the Lord, and

who is a rock except our God?

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This God is my strong refuge

and has made my way blameless.

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He made my feet like the feet of a

deer and set me secure on the heights.

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He trains my hands for war so that

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

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You have given me the shield

of your salvation and your

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gentleness made me great.

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You gave a wide place for my steps

under me, and my feet did not slip.

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I pursued my enemies and

destroyed them and did not turn

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back until they were consumed.

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I thrust them through so

that they did not rise.

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They fell under my feet.

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For you equipped me with strength

for the battle, you made those

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who rise against me sink under me.

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You made my enemies turn their

backs to me, those who hated

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me, and I destroyed them.

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They looked, but there was none to save.

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They cried to the Lord,

but He did not answer them.

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I beat them fine as the dust of the earth.

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I crushed them and stamped them

down like the mire of the streets.

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You delivered me from

strife with my people.

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You kept me as the head of the nations,

People whom I had not known served me.

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Foreigners came cringing to me.

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As soon as they heard

of me, they obeyed me.

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Foreigners lost heart and came

trembling out of their fortresses.

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The Lord lives, and blessed be the

Rock, and exalted be my God, the Rock

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of my salvation, the God who gave me

vengeance and brought down peoples under

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me, who brought me out from my enemies.

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You exalted me above

those who rose against me.

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You delivered me from men of violence.

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For this I will praise you, O

Lord, among the nations, and

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sing praises to your name.

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Great salvation he brings to his king

and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

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to David and his offspring forever.

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Speaker 44: Let me point out a few

phrases that really ministered to me.

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In verse 20, it says, "He rescued

me because He delighted in me."

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No explanation needed, right?

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That's just so beautiful.

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And in verses 26 and 27, " With the

merciful, you show yourself merciful.

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With the blameless man, you

show yourself blameless.

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With the purified, you deal

purely, and with the crooked, you

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make yourself seem torturous."

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Isn't that so true that the closer

we get to God and the more our hearts

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are right before Him, the more we

respect and understand His ways?

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But when people are far from the Lord,

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they criticize His righteous judgment,

and they misunderstand the heart of God.

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And as a working mom with all the things

on my plate, I'm sure just like you,

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I love verse 40, " For You equipped

me with strength for the battle."

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As I think about the overall themes

of this Psalm and of David's life, I

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can't help but notice that David was

at his best when he was absolutely at

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the end of himself, running for his

life with the enemy pressing up against

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him and turning to the Lord for help.

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It was in these times of desperation

that he was kept from sin and fully

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devoted to glorifying the Lord.

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And that's really good news for us

because most moms that I know are

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overwhelmed and exhausted from all the

expectations that motherhood demands,

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but also that culture is placing on us.

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I've been vulnerable with you to share

that there are certain circumstances

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in my life that I couldn't possibly

do without the Holy Spirit helping

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me and guiding me each day.

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There are complex situations that few

have been able to speak into and give

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me wisdom on how to handle, and the Lord

has allowed me to be in a place where I

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desperately need Him to guide me each day.

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Yesterday, I got to spend

some time with one of my best

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friends, and her life is similar.

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There is no way that she could do what her

family life requires of her without the

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Lord strengthening her and equipping her.

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And I can observe that it's in this

humility and reliance that she's being

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made more beautiful and like Christ.

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This spiritual reality, that

what we need most is to rely on

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God and find our dwelling place

with Him is so counter-cultural,

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especially amongst moms right now.

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You and I are repeatedly being told

that we're at our best when we've

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devoted enough time to self-care

and alone time to recharge.

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Of course, that's a valid reality.

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But if we find our strength in those

times instead of in the Lord who made us,

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we're being misguided.

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Jesus said, " Out of the overflow

of the mouth, the heart speaks."

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When God allows our circumstances to

reveal some of the sin that's in our

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heart, and we wanna tell ourselves, " Oh,

no, no, no, I would be such a patient

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person if I only had time to myself,"

actually, the Lord is allowing us to

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be in situations that reveal our need

to be sanctified and perfected by Him.

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And I think when we embrace the blessing

of these overwhelming situations revealing

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our need for God, it can transform how

we move forward in serving our families.

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If we're really committing to what

God called us to, and we walk in faith

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that He's going to equip us, then when

it feels absolutely beyond what we

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can do in our flesh, we can become

poor in spirit, as the Beatitudes

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say, crying out for Him to fill us

and to be glorified through it all.

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I'll say it one more time.

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You and I are at our best when we

are deeply reliant and desperate for

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the God who longs to dwell with us.

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So let's close praying to that end.

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Heavenly Father, we thank You for

Your Word and Your faithfulness.

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We delight in the way that David praised

You so faithfully, and that even when

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he wasn't faithful, You did not neglect

Your covenant and Your promises to him

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that's deeply encouraging for us because

we desperately need your mercy and grace

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in our lack.

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Thank you that your Spirit is available

to us to strengthen and equip us for what

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you're calling us to accomplish each day.

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Transform and renew our minds that

instead of despising the overwhelm or

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the obligations, that we would see

them as a beautiful opportunity to come

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to the end of ourselves and recognize

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our deep need for you.

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We're so grateful that you rescue

us because you delight in us.

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And often, Lord, I need to be

rescued from my own thoughts.

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So I confess to you the times where

I fall into self-pity or coveting

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circumstances you have not chosen for me.

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I pray for every mom listening and also

for our families that you would make

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us increasingly merciful, blameless,

and pure before you, for then we'll see

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your perfection at work in our lives.

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Thank you, Jesus, that you promise

to fill us when we cry out for you.

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It's in your name we pray, amen.