Lord,
You know my frame. When suffering is chronic in my earthly life and I wake up with pain-full, ongoing problems, You know I quickly imagine the worst when I look into the near future.
Comfort me to remember Your promised best. Change my thoughts when I only imagine the worst.
God’s promised best of living with Jesus, my inheritance
Jesus, You give me glorious and comforting details of what lies ahead for me:
Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20 ESV).
Children of the heavenly King,
As ye journey, sweetly sing;
Sing your Saviour’s worthy praise,
Glorious in his works and ways.
(“Children of the Heavenly King,” Cennick, J., 1743, sing to the tune of “Take My Life and Let It Be”)
God’s promised best of seeing Him!
Abba Father, thank You for the beautiful descriptions of what it will be like to see my resurrected and ascended Jesus as He is, to see Your face as Jesus has always seen You, and to live in Your holy and glorious presence forever (Rev. 1:12-18, 21:22-27).
Ye are traveling home to God
In the way the fathers trod;
They are happy now, and ye
Soon their happiness shall see.
No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever (Rev. 22:3-5 ESV).
Stir my heart into deep gratitude and praise, for this eternal promise is my sustaining hope…living with Jesus as I suffer today…
My identity in Christ, the LORD
So often, I forget Your promises, imagining the worst, because I forget who I am as a member of Your royal family. I forget my own identity in Christ, my elder brother!
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2 ESV).
O ye banished seed, be glad;
Christ your Advocate is made;
You to save, your flesh assumes;
Brother to your souls becomes.
My identity in Christ, my King
LORD Jesus, when I fear the worst, I also forget that You are King over all…and You are MY Lord and King. I belong to the Lord, the King!
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne (Ps. 47:8 ESV).
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (Jn. 18:36 ESV).
The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved (Ps. 93:1 ESV).
Shout, ye little flock, and blest;
You on Jesus’ throne shall rest;
There your seat is now prepared,
There your kingdom and reward.
And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Dan. 7:27 ESV).
Your promised best, Your blessing of compassion and help to me as I suffer
I easily focus on my earthly suffering or the escalating darkness swirling around me and forget I’m already transferred into Your kingdom.
Please help me remember Your compassionate mercy to me as Your beloved child and to be humbly, reverently thankful to You, particularly amid this tempting trial.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:4 ESV)…
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:12-14 ESV).
Fear not, brethren, joyful stand
On the borders of your land;
Jesus Christ, your Father’s Son,
Bids you undismayed go on.
Your promised blessing, promised best is Your promised grace in anything future
I cling to Your promised blessing of grace to help Your beloved ones in Christ remain steadfast when we are “under trial.”
Lord, submissive make us go,
Gladly leaving all below;
Only thou our Leader be,
And we still will follow thee.
By Your gracious gift of enduring faith in Your steadfast love toward me, when I have “stood the test,” this is Your promised best!
In the name of my beloved King, my Lord, my Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
Material adapted from Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering: A Devotional Bible Study Prayer Journal, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2023
A worship music playlist gift to help us both sing God’s promises to us in Christ when we imagine the worst
It’s a battle every single morning for me, waking up for 35 years with chronic pain. What about you? Singing God’s promises to those who love Him, those in Christ? It changes my thoughts, and He helps me move forward into His promised best.
Lately, an “imagined worst” has indeed come true with the death of our baby granddaughter. I’d already created this week’s playlist gift. Now, this week’s songs…God’s promises of grace, compassion, and help have become His continual grace amid a new, wearying grief journey. Singing His Word’s promises is His sustaining comfort in this loss.
If singing His Word’s promises would bless you as you suffer too, sign up below and I’ll email my professionally curated weekly playlist gifts to you, with love and prayers from this sister in Christ who understands.
To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, or Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.
