Aug. 6, 2026
#47 - When Life Keeps Pulling You Under | What Psalm 69 Taught Me
What happens when you stop rushing through Scripture and simply stay with it?
In this episode, Dr. Cory Potter explores the wisdom of Psalm 69 and shares how lingering with a single passage over several days can reveal fresh insights about both God and ourselves. Together, we'll examine what this psalm teaches about feeling overwhelmed, searching for solid ground, practicing healthy boundaries, and trusting God through seasons that stretch us.
This conversation is an invitation to slow down, engage Scripture more deeply, and discover how God's Word continues to speak into the realities of everyday life. If you've been carrying more than you feel equipped to handle or longing for a renewed sense of stability and hope, Psalm 69 offers timeless encouragement that God meets us in the middle of the journey and faithfully works restoration in our lives.
Scripture: Psalm 69
WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.319
Welcome back to Mind & Faith Matters. It's been
00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:06.379
a minute since I've regularly put out episodes.
00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:09.380
And as I said last week, I wanted to share some
00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.599
things that were happening and what God has been
00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.179
teaching me during this season. Life has been
00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:19.100
full in so many ways that it stretched my time,
00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:22.519
my energy, and even my capacity. And I've been
00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.699
trying to move through this as honestly and as
00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:30.460
intentionally as I can to give it the best attention
00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:32.799
that I can. And I wanted to talk about during
00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.200
this season of my life, I found myself approaching
00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:42.039
scripture differently on purpose. I decided instead
00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:45.759
of reading a passage once or a couple times and
00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.600
moving on, I've been staying with the passage
00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:52.899
for several days. Sometimes I've read it in the
00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:55.200
morning and then come back to it later that evening.
00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:59.979
I look up different translations of it. I'll
00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:03.060
ask questions. I'll pay attention to what stands
00:01:03.060 --> 00:01:08.519
out and what shifts. It's felt less like studying
00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:12.540
and more like sitting with a companion. And one
00:01:12.540 --> 00:01:15.799
of the passages that has stayed with me in this
00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:20.439
season is Psalm 69. The more time I spend with
00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:23.760
it, the more I realize how much it connected
00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.239
with what I've been experiencing. Psalm 69 begins
00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:42.959
with these words, When I first read those verses,
00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:57.530
I immediately connected with the image. And as
00:01:57.530 --> 00:02:01.609
I reflected on those words, I realized that finding
00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:04.469
solid ground has been a significant theme in
00:02:04.469 --> 00:02:08.449
my own life recently. Part of that involved the
00:02:08.449 --> 00:02:12.069
move, part of that involves work responsibilities,
00:02:12.629 --> 00:02:14.750
and part of that involves something I've been
00:02:14.750 --> 00:02:18.949
working on personally, as well as on the episodes,
00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:23.129
which is creating healthier boundaries. And here's
00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:27.080
where I want to be clear. Psalm 69 isn't about
00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.080
boundaries. It's not a passage that will talk
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:33.139
directly about boundaries. It's a lament, in
00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:37.360
fact. It's a cry for help from David, someone
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:42.180
who feels overwhelmed, surrounded, and stretched
00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:45.659
thin. Now, does that sound familiar in your own
00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:51.939
life? But the imagery of sinking, of losing footing,
00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:57.139
searching for something solid to stand on. That
00:02:57.139 --> 00:02:59.759
has helped me understand why boundaries matter
00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:05.139
in my own life. The psalm gives language to the
00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.919
emotional and spiritual experience that often
00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:10.819
leads us to begin setting boundaries in the first
00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:14.599
place. A little later in the psalm, David says
00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:19.580
he is weary with crying and that his eyes fail
00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:24.080
as he waits for God. That line stayed with me.
00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:27.539
It's the picture of someone who has reached the
00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:30.759
end of themselves. Someone who has been treading
00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:34.939
water for a long time. Many of us know that feeling.
00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:37.879
The feeling of being tired in a way that sleep
00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:41.979
doesn't fully fix. The feeling of carrying more
00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:46.620
than we were meant to carry. The feeling of trying
00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:51.000
to stay faithful while the waters keep rising.
00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:56.969
And as I sat with Psalm 69, I began to notice
00:03:56.969 --> 00:04:01.569
something else. The Psalm doesn't only describe
00:04:01.569 --> 00:04:06.490
David's experience. It reveals some things about
00:04:06.490 --> 00:04:11.569
God. One of the first things the Psalm shows
00:04:11.569 --> 00:04:15.669
us is that God hears the cries of the overwhelmed.
00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:22.000
David prays because he trusts God. and he trusts
00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.480
that he is listening. Even when he feels like
00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:29.139
the waters are rising, he believes God is attentive,
00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:34.759
not distant. The psalm also reminds us that God's
00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:39.839
love is steadfast. David appeals to God's abundant
00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:45.180
mercy. That's, in biblical terms, covenant language,
00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:49.800
the kind of love that doesn't shift with circumstances.
00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:55.920
Another theme that rises to the surface is that
00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:02.319
God acts out of compassion. David asks God to
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:07.040
answer him in the abundance of your mercy. He
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.800
expects God's response to flow from compassion,
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:16.920
not irritation or distance. Man, wouldn't that
00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:20.120
be nice if that was how it was in our other relationships?
00:05:21.050 --> 00:05:24.189
people responded to us out of compassion and
00:05:24.189 --> 00:05:28.329
not irritation or distance. That's what I want
00:05:28.329 --> 00:05:31.790
in my relationships and that's why boundaries
00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:36.230
are important to me. And woven throughout this
00:05:36.230 --> 00:05:40.069
psalm is the truth that God rescues and delivers.
00:05:40.389 --> 00:05:45.009
David uses language like deliver me, save me,
00:05:45.269 --> 00:05:48.930
and draw near to my soul. He believes God is
00:05:48.930 --> 00:05:54.240
the kind of God who steps in lifts up and pulls
00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:58.920
people out of deep waters. Oh God, I need that.
00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:05.180
I think we all do at times. There's also a quiet
00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:08.720
confidence in the psalm that God sees injustice
00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:14.120
and does not ignore it. David is mistreated,
00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:18.490
misunderstood, and mocked. He trusts that God
00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:22.730
sees what is wrong and will act with justice
00:06:22.730 --> 00:06:27.389
in his time. And then there's this tender theme.
00:06:28.910 --> 00:06:33.410
God draws near to the brokenhearted. David says,
00:06:34.029 --> 00:06:37.949
I'm in pain and distress. Let your salvation,
00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:43.430
O God, set me on high. The psalm assumes God
00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:47.870
is close enough to lift. to steady and to comfort.
00:06:49.490 --> 00:06:51.910
And all these themes begin to shape how I read
00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:55.490
the Psalm. They also shaped how I understood
00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:59.589
my own search for solid ground. There's a moment
00:06:59.589 --> 00:07:03.750
in Psalm 69 where David says, but as for me,
00:07:04.910 --> 00:07:09.730
my prayer is to you. It's a simple line, but
00:07:09.730 --> 00:07:13.449
it's a turning point. It's the moment where lament
00:07:13.449 --> 00:07:17.819
becomes trust. not because the circumstances
00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:22.720
have changed, but because David is choosing to
00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:27.019
bring his whole self to God in the middle of
00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:31.759
it. That line has become a quiet prayer for me
00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:38.579
in this season. As for me, my prayer is to you.
00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.079
You see, there's another reason Psalm 69 has
00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.490
been especially meaningful this year. At the
00:07:45.490 --> 00:07:48.870
beginning of the year, my wife chose a word for
00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:53.930
the family and that word has been restore. As
00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:58.430
I continued reading Psalm 69, I noticed how often
00:07:58.430 --> 00:08:03.589
David's prayer or his prayers point toward restoration.
00:08:05.029 --> 00:08:09.350
He's seeking God's help. He's seeking God's presence
00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:14.529
and he's seeking God's intervention. He's seeking
00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:20.310
renewal and restoration. Toward the end of the
00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:23.750
psalm, David begins to express hope that God
00:08:23.750 --> 00:08:28.250
will revive him and save him. Those words stood
00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:31.769
out to me, too. They're gentle words. And they
00:08:31.769 --> 00:08:34.570
don't promise instant change, but point toward
00:08:34.570 --> 00:08:39.029
the steady work and sometimes slow work of renewal.
00:08:39.990 --> 00:08:42.710
The more I thought about that, the more I realized
00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:48.149
that restoration is often a process. And it does
00:08:48.149 --> 00:08:53.809
unfold one step at a time, one day at a time,
00:08:54.389 --> 00:09:00.269
one prayer at a time, one faithful decision at
00:09:00.269 --> 00:09:03.309
a time. Sometimes restoration begins while we're
00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:06.429
still walking through the challenge. That realization
00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:09.950
has been encouraging for me. It's reminded me
00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:16.620
that God is present. in every season, in every
00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:21.220
transition, in every uncertainty, and God is
00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:25.620
present in seasons that feel busy. He is present
00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:30.460
in seasons that feel exhausting when the waters
00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:34.440
are rising. One of the practices I've appreciated
00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:38.960
most recently is staying here with a single passage
00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:43.340
long enough for it to become familiar. Each time
00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.860
I read Psalm 69, I noticed something different.
00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:49.620
One translation highlights a word I hadn't paid
00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:52.580
attention to before. Another translation may
00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:56.019
bring out an emotion I hadn't noticed. A verse
00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:59.720
that seemed ordinary suddenly feels deeply personal.
00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:04.120
The passage becomes a conversation that continues
00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.419
over several days. And if you never tried this
00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:10.159
approach, I want to encourage you to give it
00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:15.429
a try. Pick a song. Read it every day for a week.
00:10:15.750 --> 00:10:17.950
Read it in different translations. Ask what it
00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:21.629
teaches you about God or what it reveals to you
00:10:21.629 --> 00:10:26.309
about your own life and situation. You may be
00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:30.889
surprised at what you discover. As I wrap up
00:10:30.889 --> 00:10:33.230
today's episode, I want to thank you for your
00:10:33.230 --> 00:10:37.629
patience during this busy season. The podcast
00:10:37.629 --> 00:10:41.840
room is done. The boxes have all disappeared
00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.639
and life is beginning to settle into a new pattern.
00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:49.120
There's still work to do and there's still responsibilities
00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.960
to manage and lessons to learn. Psalm 69 has
00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:57.399
reminded me that finding solid ground begins
00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:02.179
with bringing our self, our whole self, before
00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:07.399
God. It begins with honesty, crying out, lamenting.
00:11:07.470 --> 00:11:11.289
and it grows through trust. And David shows that
00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:14.110
it continues through faithfulness. And along
00:11:14.110 --> 00:11:19.730
the way, God works restoration into places we
00:11:19.730 --> 00:11:23.409
may not have expected. Thank you for the time
00:11:23.409 --> 00:11:26.289
that you spend with me each week and that you
00:11:26.289 --> 00:11:30.789
listened today. Until next time, take care of
00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:34.009
yourself. Take care of each other. Take care
00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:37.850
of God's Word. And remember that growth often
00:11:37.850 --> 00:11:43.149
happens one faithful step at a time. God bless
00:11:43.149 --> 00:11:43.990
and have a great week.
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.319
Welcome back to Mind & Faith Matters. It's been
00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:06.379
a minute since I've regularly put out episodes.
00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:09.380
And as I said last week, I wanted to share some
00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.599
things that were happening and what God has been
00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.179
teaching me during this season. Life has been
00:00:15.179 --> 00:00:19.100
full in so many ways that it stretched my time,
00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:22.519
my energy, and even my capacity. And I've been
00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.699
trying to move through this as honestly and as
00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:30.460
intentionally as I can to give it the best attention
00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:32.799
that I can. And I wanted to talk about during
00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.200
this season of my life, I found myself approaching
00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:42.039
scripture differently on purpose. I decided instead
00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:45.759
of reading a passage once or a couple times and
00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.600
moving on, I've been staying with the passage
00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:52.899
for several days. Sometimes I've read it in the
00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:55.200
morning and then come back to it later that evening.
00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:59.979
I look up different translations of it. I'll
00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:03.060
ask questions. I'll pay attention to what stands
00:01:03.060 --> 00:01:08.519
out and what shifts. It's felt less like studying
00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:12.540
and more like sitting with a companion. And one
00:01:12.540 --> 00:01:15.799
of the passages that has stayed with me in this
00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:20.439
season is Psalm 69. The more time I spend with
00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:23.760
it, the more I realize how much it connected
00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.239
with what I've been experiencing. Psalm 69 begins
00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:42.959
with these words, When I first read those verses,
00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:57.530
I immediately connected with the image. And as
00:01:57.530 --> 00:02:01.609
I reflected on those words, I realized that finding
00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:04.469
solid ground has been a significant theme in
00:02:04.469 --> 00:02:08.449
my own life recently. Part of that involved the
00:02:08.449 --> 00:02:12.069
move, part of that involves work responsibilities,
00:02:12.629 --> 00:02:14.750
and part of that involves something I've been
00:02:14.750 --> 00:02:18.949
working on personally, as well as on the episodes,
00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:23.129
which is creating healthier boundaries. And here's
00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:27.080
where I want to be clear. Psalm 69 isn't about
00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.080
boundaries. It's not a passage that will talk
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:33.139
directly about boundaries. It's a lament, in
00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:37.360
fact. It's a cry for help from David, someone
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:42.180
who feels overwhelmed, surrounded, and stretched
00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:45.659
thin. Now, does that sound familiar in your own
00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:51.939
life? But the imagery of sinking, of losing footing,
00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:57.139
searching for something solid to stand on. That
00:02:57.139 --> 00:02:59.759
has helped me understand why boundaries matter
00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:05.139
in my own life. The psalm gives language to the
00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.919
emotional and spiritual experience that often
00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:10.819
leads us to begin setting boundaries in the first
00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:14.599
place. A little later in the psalm, David says
00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:19.580
he is weary with crying and that his eyes fail
00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:24.080
as he waits for God. That line stayed with me.
00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:27.539
It's the picture of someone who has reached the
00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:30.759
end of themselves. Someone who has been treading
00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:34.939
water for a long time. Many of us know that feeling.
00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:37.879
The feeling of being tired in a way that sleep
00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:41.979
doesn't fully fix. The feeling of carrying more
00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:46.620
than we were meant to carry. The feeling of trying
00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:51.000
to stay faithful while the waters keep rising.
00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:56.969
And as I sat with Psalm 69, I began to notice
00:03:56.969 --> 00:04:01.569
something else. The Psalm doesn't only describe
00:04:01.569 --> 00:04:06.490
David's experience. It reveals some things about
00:04:06.490 --> 00:04:11.569
God. One of the first things the Psalm shows
00:04:11.569 --> 00:04:15.669
us is that God hears the cries of the overwhelmed.
00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:22.000
David prays because he trusts God. and he trusts
00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.480
that he is listening. Even when he feels like
00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:29.139
the waters are rising, he believes God is attentive,
00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:34.759
not distant. The psalm also reminds us that God's
00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:39.839
love is steadfast. David appeals to God's abundant
00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:45.180
mercy. That's, in biblical terms, covenant language,
00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:49.800
the kind of love that doesn't shift with circumstances.
00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:55.920
Another theme that rises to the surface is that
00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:02.319
God acts out of compassion. David asks God to
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:07.040
answer him in the abundance of your mercy. He
00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.800
expects God's response to flow from compassion,
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:16.920
not irritation or distance. Man, wouldn't that
00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:20.120
be nice if that was how it was in our other relationships?
00:05:21.050 --> 00:05:24.189
people responded to us out of compassion and
00:05:24.189 --> 00:05:28.329
not irritation or distance. That's what I want
00:05:28.329 --> 00:05:31.790
in my relationships and that's why boundaries
00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:36.230
are important to me. And woven throughout this
00:05:36.230 --> 00:05:40.069
psalm is the truth that God rescues and delivers.
00:05:40.389 --> 00:05:45.009
David uses language like deliver me, save me,
00:05:45.269 --> 00:05:48.930
and draw near to my soul. He believes God is
00:05:48.930 --> 00:05:54.240
the kind of God who steps in lifts up and pulls
00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:58.920
people out of deep waters. Oh God, I need that.
00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:05.180
I think we all do at times. There's also a quiet
00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:08.720
confidence in the psalm that God sees injustice
00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:14.120
and does not ignore it. David is mistreated,
00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:18.490
misunderstood, and mocked. He trusts that God
00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:22.730
sees what is wrong and will act with justice
00:06:22.730 --> 00:06:27.389
in his time. And then there's this tender theme.
00:06:28.910 --> 00:06:33.410
God draws near to the brokenhearted. David says,
00:06:34.029 --> 00:06:37.949
I'm in pain and distress. Let your salvation,
00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:43.430
O God, set me on high. The psalm assumes God
00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:47.870
is close enough to lift. to steady and to comfort.
00:06:49.490 --> 00:06:51.910
And all these themes begin to shape how I read
00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:55.490
the Psalm. They also shaped how I understood
00:06:55.490 --> 00:06:59.589
my own search for solid ground. There's a moment
00:06:59.589 --> 00:07:03.750
in Psalm 69 where David says, but as for me,
00:07:04.910 --> 00:07:09.730
my prayer is to you. It's a simple line, but
00:07:09.730 --> 00:07:13.449
it's a turning point. It's the moment where lament
00:07:13.449 --> 00:07:17.819
becomes trust. not because the circumstances
00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:22.720
have changed, but because David is choosing to
00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:27.019
bring his whole self to God in the middle of
00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:31.759
it. That line has become a quiet prayer for me
00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:38.579
in this season. As for me, my prayer is to you.
00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.079
You see, there's another reason Psalm 69 has
00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.490
been especially meaningful this year. At the
00:07:45.490 --> 00:07:48.870
beginning of the year, my wife chose a word for
00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:53.930
the family and that word has been restore. As
00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:58.430
I continued reading Psalm 69, I noticed how often
00:07:58.430 --> 00:08:03.589
David's prayer or his prayers point toward restoration.
00:08:05.029 --> 00:08:09.350
He's seeking God's help. He's seeking God's presence
00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:14.529
and he's seeking God's intervention. He's seeking
00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:20.310
renewal and restoration. Toward the end of the
00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:23.750
psalm, David begins to express hope that God
00:08:23.750 --> 00:08:28.250
will revive him and save him. Those words stood
00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:31.769
out to me, too. They're gentle words. And they
00:08:31.769 --> 00:08:34.570
don't promise instant change, but point toward
00:08:34.570 --> 00:08:39.029
the steady work and sometimes slow work of renewal.
00:08:39.990 --> 00:08:42.710
The more I thought about that, the more I realized
00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:48.149
that restoration is often a process. And it does
00:08:48.149 --> 00:08:53.809
unfold one step at a time, one day at a time,
00:08:54.389 --> 00:09:00.269
one prayer at a time, one faithful decision at
00:09:00.269 --> 00:09:03.309
a time. Sometimes restoration begins while we're
00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:06.429
still walking through the challenge. That realization
00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:09.950
has been encouraging for me. It's reminded me
00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:16.620
that God is present. in every season, in every
00:09:16.620 --> 00:09:21.220
transition, in every uncertainty, and God is
00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:25.620
present in seasons that feel busy. He is present
00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:30.460
in seasons that feel exhausting when the waters
00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:34.440
are rising. One of the practices I've appreciated
00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:38.960
most recently is staying here with a single passage
00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:43.340
long enough for it to become familiar. Each time
00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.860
I read Psalm 69, I noticed something different.
00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:49.620
One translation highlights a word I hadn't paid
00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:52.580
attention to before. Another translation may
00:09:52.580 --> 00:09:56.019
bring out an emotion I hadn't noticed. A verse
00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:59.720
that seemed ordinary suddenly feels deeply personal.
00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:04.120
The passage becomes a conversation that continues
00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.419
over several days. And if you never tried this
00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:10.159
approach, I want to encourage you to give it
00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:15.429
a try. Pick a song. Read it every day for a week.
00:10:15.750 --> 00:10:17.950
Read it in different translations. Ask what it
00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:21.629
teaches you about God or what it reveals to you
00:10:21.629 --> 00:10:26.309
about your own life and situation. You may be
00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:30.889
surprised at what you discover. As I wrap up
00:10:30.889 --> 00:10:33.230
today's episode, I want to thank you for your
00:10:33.230 --> 00:10:37.629
patience during this busy season. The podcast
00:10:37.629 --> 00:10:41.840
room is done. The boxes have all disappeared
00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.639
and life is beginning to settle into a new pattern.
00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:49.120
There's still work to do and there's still responsibilities
00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:53.960
to manage and lessons to learn. Psalm 69 has
00:10:53.960 --> 00:10:57.399
reminded me that finding solid ground begins
00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:02.179
with bringing our self, our whole self, before
00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:07.399
God. It begins with honesty, crying out, lamenting.
00:11:07.470 --> 00:11:11.289
and it grows through trust. And David shows that
00:11:11.289 --> 00:11:14.110
it continues through faithfulness. And along
00:11:14.110 --> 00:11:19.730
the way, God works restoration into places we
00:11:19.730 --> 00:11:23.409
may not have expected. Thank you for the time
00:11:23.409 --> 00:11:26.289
that you spend with me each week and that you
00:11:26.289 --> 00:11:30.789
listened today. Until next time, take care of
00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:34.009
yourself. Take care of each other. Take care
00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:37.850
of God's Word. And remember that growth often
00:11:37.850 --> 00:11:43.149
happens one faithful step at a time. God bless
00:11:43.149 --> 00:11:43.990
and have a great week.
