God Doesn’t Break His Promises
Do you ever get tired of waiting? Maybe you feel let down because something you desire hasn’t happened yet. The struggle of a second semester senior trying to figure out what they’re called to do with their life is #rough. Prayer might even be a bit dry this season, like you’re wandering through the desert and struggling to just be. It’s hard to trust that people will come through on the things they say they’ll do for us, and it’s easy to call to mind moments when they failed us or wounded us instead. Here’s the difference between humanity and God, though: God fulfills His promises. If you’re struggling to trust that he’ll show up, here are some examples of His trustworthiness in response to the 7 root wounds we all experience (along with some helpful resources to pray with and reflect on).
Abandonment and Hopelessness
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth… I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18
Can you imagine the feeling of abandonment the disciples felt when Jesus–their teacher, their friend, their Lord–submitted Himself to His Passion, died, and left them alone in their grief? How hopeless they must have felt on Holy Saturday, simply waiting in the pain not knowing what was next. But right before all this, during the Last Supper discourses, Jesus told them He wouldn’t leave them alone. He said He’d return to them (which He did at His Resurrection, Alleluia!), but He also said He’d send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. Come Pentecost, the new Church was blessed abundantly with the gifts of the Spirit! Today, the Spirit is just as present as ever before! His words and actions then are ever-faithful to us today.
A simple prayer in times of abandonment or hopelessness: Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Shame
“But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin… If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.”
1 John 1:7-9
If you’ve never listened to Brene Brown’s TED Talk on guilt versus shame, it’s time. Go listen to it right now. She talks about how shame takes healthy guilt focused on behaviors and mistakes and twists it into a judgement of ourselves as bad. The problem is not your sins or wounds or mistakes because you are perfectly loved there. The problem is believing these are bigger than God’s mercy. Jesus’ Merciful Love pouring out from His Most Sacred Heart is more than enough for all our wounds of shame. He promises forgiveness for us and fulfills that promise here, too.
For experiences of shame, I encourage you to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet: instructions found here.
Fear and Powerlessness
“The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, ‘Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?’” Mark 4:39-40
We often feel fear in the present when others have failed us in the past. Sometimes we are afraid because there is nothing at all we can do for a situation, and we feel so powerless in our humanity. But Jesus has never failed us. He is fully divine and fully in control. Even when the storms are raging all around you, take courage. The Lord will calm the storm in time. We are told over and over again to not be afraid by Jesus in scripture, so let’s try today to trust Him in faith!
Reflect on this encouragement from St. John Paul II at World Youth Day, 2000 when he said: “Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium!” He’s talking to you, too!
Confusion
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6
Truth cuts through the wounds of confusion, shining light in a dark space. This is what Jesus promises us: that the truth is revealed through Himself. In times of confusion, the Holy Spirit points us back to the way we are meant to go.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7
I encourage you to remember that the Lord doesn’t hold anything back from us. In times of confusion, it is very good to ask the Lord for His help and truth. He will provide this for us, though sometimes not in the timeline or way we expect, and all we need to do is ask, seek and knock.
In times of confusion, I love to pray with both the Litany of Trust and Psalm 27.
Rejection
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you… If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” John 15:16,18-19
We are told plain as day by Jesus: we are hated by the world, yet we are both accepted and chosen. Jesus promised us the cross, He knows the world will hurt us, He even knew how His own disciples would one day be persecuted and martyred. But even in all this, the apostles, the saints, and you and I, know that the one who matters most chooses us every time.
The Lord chooses us with a love that thirsts for us from the cross: pray with the I Thirst For You Meditation.
Finally, if we recall the season of Advent, we remember that God sending His Son, the Messiah, into the world was the fulfillment of a major promise, too. The Angelus Prayer is a beautiful way to call to mind the Incarnation of our Lord, and praying the Magnificat echoes Mary’s song of praise, glorifying God for fulfilling His promises. Even if we’re waiting for God to come through right now, it’s time to offer our thanksgiving for the blessings He has in store for us.
