Blessed Assurance

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalms 43:5 

Emotions are a big part of life. They inevitably fill our days with ups and downs, highs and lows. If I’m being honest, sometimes I find myself daydreaming of perfection when my emotions begin sliding downward. Maybe you do the same?

Perfection is always desirable. It’s that unattainable goal or dream we see in our mind’s eye. The trouble is there is no complete perfection this side of heaven. Here on this wide, green earth we have only the assurance that perfection is coming. It is our great reward! Perfection will be experienced when we are accepted into heaven’s golden gates. 

Dreaming of perfection and striving to come close to it will usually tip my emotions into more of a downward slant. I have found that it most certainly does not perpetuate contentment, peace or joy. 

Often times though, I find my mind wandering. I crave a home that never gets dusty or in need of repairs. I dream of relationships that are easy where only laughter is shared, instead of tears. I think of endless financial blessing (seriously, who doesn’t). I dream of strong, vibrant health and no more sickness, injury or pain. I may even wish that a magical fountain of youth would appear in my backyard. Wouldn’t life be more trouble free if we could be sure of these things? 

The problem is that life is completely unpredictable. We can make our plans – preparing the way for what we think our day will be like – yet there is no real assurance in how anything is going to unfold. 

Even with knowing that, my hard-to-tame habit has been to find my idle, or overly busy mind, wandering happily into blissful fantasies of my self-imagined perfection. One particular scene of perfection I like to imagine is of myself sitting on a picturesque back porch viewing the landscape before me of tall, green grass that waves gently in the breeze. Grass that never has snakes or bugs, of course. I sip coconut flavored coffee that stays perpetually hot, while I visually consume the endless array of wildflowers blooming vibrantly in the glorious morning sun – bouquets of all colors and sizes. The bright blue sky is lined with puffy, white clouds. Giant, twisting oak trees dot the horizon. The birds sing. Perfection. 

Then…something jerks me back to reality and I feel the contrast of the two worlds. 

Anyone else do the same? 

I think it’s in our nature to crave perfection on some level. I do love beautiful things. However, fantasy and reality do not mesh well. On one hand I believe our Heavenly Father likes it when we dream. I believe He desires us to find joy in our everyday circumstances, using our unique gifts and talents from Him to make the world a more beautiful place. Yet, on the other hand, He has set us into a flawed world (albeit temporarily) for a great and divine purpose. We are here to learn, grow, give and serve. His word tells us in Colossians 3:2 to, “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” The things of this earth will never satisfy. There is no perfection to be found.  

Making the mental switch of day-dreaming (earthly things) to God-dreaming (things above) is where we will find our utmost assurance and peace. It’s that blessed assurance that when we belong to Jesus, we have been washed in his blood and he is now preparing a place for us in heaven. When we allow the Lord to replace our dreams for His dreams we are blessedly assured that we are right where we are supposed to be. 

Many struggles coexist with our blessings. Flowers and weeds grow up together, side by side. Each moment that we experience may include both happiness and sadness, a win and a loss. The earth we occupy now has countless dark corners. Evil is lurking. A true enemy prowling. There will always be an abundance of hard work to be done. Blood, sweat and tears will forever be a part of our lives here on earth. Pain, struggles and heartache mix with blessing, favor and pure joy. It can cloud our minds and confuse our senses when we are aiming to reach perfection here in this temporary home.

Perfection can be found in only one place. Jesus! Heaven is our home and it is there, in the perfection of heaven, that our souls will live out our eternity. That is a very blessed assurance for those who are in Christ Jesus.

It’s easy to be downcast when we focus on our dreams of creating a perfect life here on earth. However, when living for Jesus is our main objective, a beautiful exchange occurs. We trade our worries, fears and troubles for a beautiful, blessed assurance. An assurance that says, “Jesus is mine!” When we take ahold of God and His promises with both hands, we cannot continue to hold onto the things of the world. We surrender the old and take hold of the new. New life. New dreams. New blessings. New purpose. 

It’s a sure thing! A blessed assurance. 

as·sur·ance

/əˈSHo͝orəns/

noun
a positive declaration intended to give confidence; a promise.

bless·ed

/blest/

adjective

made holy; consecrated.

Give Jesus your life and He will give you His. God’s promise is that if you believe you are saved! You exchange your dirty rags for garments of praise! He washes you with his blood and as you live a life surrendered to Him you can be blessedly assured that He is preparing a place for you in heaven. You become His heir! 

His sweet and sovereign presence is our foretaste of what is to come in eternity – glory divine! And in His presence we receive everything we will ever need here on earth.

Friends, do you have this blessed assurance? Do you know that Jesus is yours? 

Pray this prayer with me: “Dear Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and I ask you to forgive me. I surrender my life completely to you. I accept you today as my Lord and Savior. Make me new. Give me your dreams, help me to hear your voice and reflect you in every area of my life. Amen!” 

If you have prayed that prayer for the first time today, or as a recommitment, your name has now been written in the Lambs Book of Life. 

You can now say, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!” 

Welcome to the family of God! 

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God

Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Perfect submission, perfect delight

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

This is my story, this is my song

Praising my Savior all the day long

Praising my Savior all the day long

Songwriters: Don Wyrtzen / Fanny Crosby / Phoebe Knapp

Listen to the song here: Blessed Assurance

Be blessed, friends!

~ Stephanie