We’ve all been hurt by someone breaking a promise:
- A grown child assured you she’d call you every week, but she seldom does.
- Your supervisor insisted you’d receive a promotion and a raise, but neither occurred.
- A friend broke your confidence and told others what you’d said to him in secret.
- A spouse vowed fidelity during the wedding ceremony, but had multiple affairs.
A Reliable Promise Keeper
A promise is only as good as the person who makes it.
That’s why a significant practice in my spiritual pilgrimage is memorizing the timeless promises in God’s Word. He “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). According to Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
HIs promises are reliable because they are fastened to His character! Though the scope of their value is much broader, I’m especially grateful for certain promises when I’m depressed.
Promised Presence
When I’m mired in a depressive episode, I may not feel God’s presence, but He insists that He is always with me: “He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5). I tell myself that this promise is far more reliable than my feelings. I don’t have to be aware of His presence for it to be a reality.
Doubting God’s Goodness?
When I doubt God’s goodness because He hasn’t answered my prayer for freedom from depression, I cling to Nahum 1:7. “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.” I may not enjoy recurring depression, but since He’s good, I tell myself He will use it redemptively.
Weary of Weakness
When I’m distraught over my temperamental weakness and hypersensitivity, and figure I’d be more useful to God if I were more stable, He reminds me of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Concerning Paul’s thorn in the flesh, which he believed hindered his ministry, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” God explained why He uses weak people by directing Paul to write this: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
Knowing my weaknesses, I’m more likely to give God credit for what He accomplishes through me. And those who know me well will realize that what I do is due to God’s grace.
Melancholy over Ministry
When I’m despondent because I don’t see observable results from my writing or teaching, I preach to myself these words, again inspired through Paul: “My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).
Apparent lack of results may mean I’ve sown seeds that will bear fruit later on, or I’m simply not aware of some effects that occur within readers or learners.
Strong Temptations
When I’m despondent, negative thoughts vie for attention. I’m more vulnerable to sinful fantasies, perhaps as a way to counter the gloom that pervades my spirit. I’m still responsible before God for such sin, but I claim His promise to help me against the lures: “The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). He enables me to say “No!” more often. When I fail, it’s because I don’t cry out to Him for help. But when I do fail, He pledges to forgive me. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Will the Darkness Ever End?
When a depressive episode persists longer than usual, I think it may never end and I’ll never know joy again. But I remind myself of a verse that some scholars think carries the weight of a promise: “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the the help of His presence” (Psalm 42:5). I also recite these words to myself: “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall, I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me” (Micah 7:8).
Not A Panacea
Quoting these promises to myself isn’t a glib use of Scripture. For me, memorizing these promises doesn’t necessarily prevent the encroachment of a dark mood. Rather, storing them in my mind provides a means of battling the depression when it comes.
When I meditate on these pledges for God’s intervention, God’s Spirit instills hope within me and boosts my faith, enabling me to fulfill the demands of the day. Flinging Bible verses at my depression doesn’t usually obliterate it; rather, this spiritual practice sustains me, assuages its intensity and often shortens its stay.
Reminding God of His Promises
But I don’t just preach God’s promises to myself. I also quote them back to God as a way to claim the truth of those verses. For example:
God, You said Your faithfulness will show in strengthening me against this temptation. (I quote 2 Thessalonians 3:3 in my prayer.) That’s either a lie or it’s true. I choose to believe it’s true, so in this moment of weakness, I’m pleading with You to fulfill this promise on my behalf. I don’t have the strength to keep resisting, but You do and You said You’d give it to me when needed. And I need it right now! I trust You to keep your word, God.
Father, I don’t know when this dip in mood will end, but You promise me that “I shall again praise You for the help of Your presence.” You said You will intervene when I call on You in a time of need: “Call on Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor me” (Psalm 50:15). Show Your faithfulness by fulfilling this promise soon, Lord.
The Value of God’s Promises
I’ll close with what God said about the promises in His Word. “He has granted us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of His divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
You’ll never regret taking time to collect and memorize God’s timeless promises! Dallas Willard stimulated my emphasis on Scripture memory in the 1988 release of The Spirit of the Disciplines:
As a pastor, teacher and counselor, I have repeatedly seen the transformation of inner and outer life that comes simply from memorization and meditation upon Scripture. Personally, I would never undertake to pastor a church or guide a program of Christian education that did not involve a continuous program of memorization of the choicest passages of Scripture for people of all ages.
Share with me a Bible promise that’s precious to you, and tell me why. I’d love to hear from you! terry.powell@ciu.edu
Amen and amen! I am totally with you, Terry! Scripture memory and pleading the promises of God have been used by the Lord to save my life! I am so thankful to The Navigators for introducing me to Scripture memory 45 years ago. If the Lord Jesus quoted Scripture to the evil one as he tempted Him, it’s good enough for me! Thank you, Terry for the great reminder. I love you.