Welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well. We're glad that you've joined us this week. And those of you who know me know that I don't do New Year's resolutions. I just never have. Well, I shouldn't say I never have. I stopped doing them because I didn't understand the point in all that. Tim, do you do New Year's resolutions?
Not really. I do some reflection. It's not that formal.
Yeah. So, but here's something Suzi and I did start doing. I don't know maybe six, seven years ago now. We would pick what God put on our heart as a verse for the year. I remember one year it was Romans 15:3. And I still love that verse about the peace of God. Last year we had taken from the Psalms, the 116th Psalm in the NLT. the first two verses say this, I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. But then it's verse two that really caught us a year ago. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath. It's that visual picture of God bending down to listen that really just captured Susan Mia. year ago and that was our verse for the year. So what you say we have another verse for this year and
wait do I get to pick it? Is this what the is this why I'm on the episode?
No, it's not why you're on the episode.
I was so excited.
No, it actually is one again that Suzi came to her and as she read it to me a few days ago, I thought that's really true. It comes from John chapter 10. It's the chapter that talks about the good shepherd and his sheep. And in verse three, it says this, "The gatekeeper opens is a gate for him. And the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them and they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger. They will run from him because they don't know his voice. And that really struck us both that he walks ahead. So again, we talked about this some last week, Tim. There's nothing that walk that comes into my life that he's not walking there with me do that. But it's the idea of they know his voice
and that's the question I throw out to those of you who are listening today. Do you know his voice?
Do could you distinguish between his voice and that of a stranger? Because we hear all kinds of different voices in our lives. All kinds of people telling us different things. So what helps us understand and follow his voice?
I love that. I love that image of it made me think about how we can think about following God as if that we have to and we're supposed to
and yet the picture there is he's the shepherd
and we want to.
Yeah.
We hear his voice and we can't help but follow him. I'm curious for you guys as you picked that verse is that did you pick that verse because that's something you are experienc eriencing and it just seemed to fit. Is it something that you're longing for, want more of?
I think it's a second Tim. I think it's a longing for and we want more of.
Suzi and I have spent a lot of time talking over the holidays and which is not an uncommon thing. That's why this podcast is just a natural thing of us talking. we recognize competing voices and we both have wrestled with competing voices. We wrestle with how God sees us and he doesn't see us in the way sometimes that the voices in our heads convey that we are. and so when we do hear his voice and we have heard his voice, we long for more of it. And it's that picture again. It's the word picture that I find myself drawn to. I guess that was some of what I'm understanding about the way I learn. Word pictures are important. They certainly are to Suzi. but that picture like you said of a shepherd who's leading us. So then I go back to the 23rd Psalm. and his surely his goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. He'll lead me. He'll lead me by pass still waters and green pastures. And yet he sets tables before my enemies. And he's there with me in all kinds of life. And that picture in John 10 of that shepherd who leads and I have enough awareness of what his voice sounds like to listen to his voice. That's something that we both long for more of when confusing voices, confusing situations come into our life, are we listening to the one who is our shepherd?
Yeah. Makes me think about too in Psalm 23, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
for you are with me.
Yeah. And it is it is that picture and is that longing. So I don't think that's a New Year's resolution as much as it's the longing and desire of our hearts for the way 2026 will unfold because truthfully none of us know what's how it's going to unfold. I mean, we have thoughts, we have plans. I mean, there are things on our calendar, there are things in our phones that say such and such is going to happen on this date, but I don't know that for sure.
But I do know this that he will walk before me. It's a friend of mine who listens regularly to the podcast, and shout out to you, Kevin, and you know who you are. who last year in the midst of some tough situations in my life said to me, "This is my prayer for you guys that the manifest presence of God would be real to you." And I think it's a Puritan phrase, that idea of the manif that God's presence would be so real to us in any given day that we would sense and know he was there. And so as we look into 2026, John 10:es 3, 4, and 5 are the ones that are going to be the ones we'll cling to. We've already got them underlined in our Bibles, highlighted in our Bibles, and they will join the list of the verses we've used in years gone by. And for those of you who maybe don't have New Year's resolutions, who you've seen the light and you've come away from those things, may maybe we would just challenge you for you, your family, for you as an individual to come up with a verse that you look to this year and long to see as part of your walk and part of your life with Christ. another shout out, this one to a friend who I've known for many, many years, and, he may have the greatest handwriting of any man I know. anyway, Jean listens regularly and he takes the time to drop multiple handwritten notes of encouragement and he said that the ease of Suz's and my back and forth kind of reparte was his word, makes him think he's sitting at our kitchen table with us. So, Jean, thanks for your listening. Thanks for your encouragement. Tim, thanks for joining in for these last couple of weeks and you'll hear every week as a producer. Maybe we'll have you back on again.
Well, these are big shoes to fill with filling in for Suzi. I didn't sing enough, I think, over the last two episodes. I didn't tease you enough.
You didn't? But that's all right. I'll take that. And it also is amazing that Gus kept quiet the whole time. So, thanks Tim. Hope you all have a great week. We'll see you back again.