Faith and Assurance
There is so much going on in the world today: wars, politics, pandemics, etc. This can fragment our families, friends, churches and workplaces. We all need assurances in life. I have worked in accounting throughout my career and I know we all like the assurance of a paycheck in the bank on payday. Also, we do accounting all year and give reports to our committees, but after the year is over the auditors come to review our work to make sure what we have done is correct. The auditors issue a report to our committee and members to give assurance that the finances are done properly.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were given a command by Nebuchadnezzar to bow down and worship him. If they didn’t, they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. These three men had hope and assurance that even if God didn’t get them through the fire, they would spend eternity with God. Most of us will probably not have to make a choice like that in our lifetime, but like Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, we know that God will take care of us and we have the assurance of salvation.
In Philip Yancey’s book The Bible Jesus Read, he writes in a chapter talking about Job, “I hesitate to write this because it is a hard truth, one I do not want to acknowledge: Job convinces me that God cares more about our faith than our pleasure.” This is a very interesting concept. God doesn’t prevent all bad things from happening to us but if we have faith in Him through the hard times our faith will be made stronger.
Jesus defeated Satan and death on the cross. Because of Jesus, when we choose Him as our Savior, we have the assurance of the resurrection. Why is that important? We know that if something were to happen to us or a loved one, we will be reunited again in Heaven. This hope gives us an assurance that we will live forever with God. This is what we need to remember on the tough days.
This assurance in Jesus is so amazing that sometimes it doesn’t seem possible. The God of the universe paid the price for my sin and all I have to do is claim Jesus as my Savior. And when I accept Him as my Savior, He will change me on the inside. I have the assurance of everlasting life with God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Do you know and feel that assurance today? Do you have questions? Check in with your local pastor and explore how much God loves you and how you can be sure of the Second Coming and a life in eternity with the Savior.
By John Page
Treasurer
