A prayer to keep your heart quiet and remember God’s promises
Kyle Norman
Bible Reading:
“All God’s promises are Jesus, and in him, amen to the glory of God through us.” – 1 Corinthians 1:20
Read or listen to the following:
Have you ever experienced this? Have you ever discovered that despite your robust commitment to Jesus, you still feel that your faith is stuck?
Such an experience is difficult. It’s easy to spiral down the path of self-deprecation at those moments. For some reason, we are afraid that we have done something wrong. Maybe God is upset with us? Perhaps we are not as forgiving as we think. These thoughts and fears bother us.
We want to assume that such an experience will not occur – faith improves everything. Believe in Jesus, the illnesses in life will magically disappear. But sadly, it’s not. We are all faced with that. This experience of John Bunyan portraying this scenario in his classic book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, is very common. At the moment of his spiritual journey, the pilgrim falls into a thick, millimeter swamp called “Slau of Disappointment.” Banyan describes this mud pit as a place that prevents fear, doubt and anxiety. The slough of disappointment stops us with our truck. Because it makes us believe there is no way we could move forward and our faith is not as strong as we hope.
But here’s the good news. This magical swamp, which appears to be threatening and oppressive, is the very place where we learn to rely on God’s promises. Banyan explains how God’s promise is the very stage in which we can stand. Deep in the swamp, “promise steps” provide a route forward.
See, God’s promises are spoken precisely at the moment we need them. They embrace us when we feel our faith is unstable and unsupported. They provide strength and hope for our Christian walks. Therefore, times of disappointment are not a denial of our faith. They are moments to learn the strength of God’s eternal words and the homeostasis of God’s presence.
What promises should I support? God’s promises are scattered throughout the Bible and spread throughout every part of our lives. Find something that speaks to you and hold the poem in your mind. Tell it on yourself, write it down on a note and post it where you can see it. The parishioners above took God’s promise and turned them into phone screensavers. After a while, the path through your personal disappointment begins to become clear and you begin to walk freely with Christ, so that you keep God’s promises before you.
Let’s pray:
Graceful God, I appreciate the promises you make – I read it over and over again in the Bible. When you are afraid that you will not be with me, you promise your existence to the end of the world. When I am afraid that I am not loved, you promise that you love me with eternal love and that you have written me with the palm of your hand. When I fear that my sin will not forgive me, your voice echoes from the cross: “Father, forgive them.” All of your promises will never be cancelled, denied or reduced.
Lord, I thank you for your promises about who you are, not who you are. They are held in your nails swirled hands and politely provided to me when I feel desperately needed. When I find myself then, I pray that you will give me the strength to stand up to your promises. As a step set in a slough of disappointment, help me confront your words.
I believe and trust you, O Lord, life. It is a lamp on my feet and a light on my path. And in my life today, pay attention to the promises I need to hear, with everything I face and that life throws at me. Father, I will quiet my heart from the race. Stop the self-denigrating voice from rising up inside me. Relieve my uneasy mind, open my ears and listen to your promises being spoken not as words from the past but as the reality of my life today. Lord, I choose to stand up to your promises and get in your way. I pray all these things in the name of Jesus, my Lord, Amen.
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Nathan Dumlao
Pastor Kyle Norman is the president of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kamloops, Canada. He holds a PhD in Spiritual Formation and is a popular author, speaker and retreat leader. His writings can be found at Christianity.com, Crosswalk.com, Ibelieve.com, Renovare Canada and more. He also maintains his own blog revkylenorman.ca. He has 20 years of idyllic experience and his ministry focuses on helping people overcome times of mental disappointment.
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