Blessed Assurance

by Cheryl S.
from Virtuous Daughters, September 2005~Volume 5, Number 6

​Dear Virtuous Daughters,
This month [September 2005] I wanted to discuss a lesson that is somewhat close to our hearts. September marks losses for our family. A dear family, as well as friends of ours that we have come to know and love, are moving far away. What bittersweet feelings of both sorrow for seeing them go - and joy for what the Lord will do in their lives. Even though each of them hold a special place in each of our hearts, for Tiffany this is the second close friend she has seen move away in the last year. For her, the feeling of loss is greater. 

As Tiffany and I discussed this loss of her friend living close by, we were reminded of the only real assurance and security in this world. I thought about each of you girls. Have you ever felt the feelings of loss? It could be as small as the loss of something you misplaced, or as great as the loss of someone you love. Either way, this life on earth is eventually about loss. With time, you will lose friends, family, your youth, your health, and eventually your life.​

I do not say this to scare you, dear girls, but to encourage you to always look to the only true assurance you have, Jesus Christ. Praise God that when Christ is your all and all, no matter what happens around you, no matter how small or great it may be, you are never alone. Meditate on Psalm 139: 1-12: “O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: and the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.” Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

I have experienced painful losses in my lifetime, yet I have come to understand Charles Spurgeon when he said, “I have learned to bless the wave that crushes me against the Rock of Ages.” Long ago, I learned in a very personal way, that the only sure thing I could know, was my Lord and Savior.
                                                      
You see, girls, in this life you can lose anything; nothing is for certain, except Jesus   Christ. But the wonderful news is that once you have made Him Lord of your life, you can cry out with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.  My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” – Psalm 73:25-26

Now I know that each of you right now depend on your parents for food, shelter, care, and love, but never forget that it is God alone that truly provides those things.  Even though you trust your parents and have confidence in them (which you should!), your surest confidence rests in God alone. Even your parents cannot always help the circumstances around them. Praise God for the blessed assurance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! “And they that know Thy name, will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.” – Psalm 9:10

I want to exhort you, dear girls, with one last statement. As Paul so encouraged the church at Philippi, I encourage you, “Therefore my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” – Philippians 4:1
 
A song to sing to the Lord:
The Solid Rock by Edward Mote, 1832

​Vs. 1: My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Chorus: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Vs. 2: When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.

Vs. 3: His oath, His covenant, His blood Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

Vs. 4: When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.

 I pray for you, darling virtuous daughters, that if the ground around you seems to be shifting or giving way, that you may in your heart say, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; on Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand!