"Assured"

The Spirit will assure you,

If you are not sure,

Surrender all control to Him,

And you will find His cure.

For all your condemnation,

All your guilt and shame,

He will relieve the burden,

You’ll never be the same.

It’s like a horse that’s carried,

Someone’s bad abuse,

And then you try to help him,

At first it seems no use.

He’s got to learn to trust you,

And that can take some time,

But when you make connection,

Things can turn out fine.

First ground work in the round pen,

Then the saddle rides,

And finally you take him,

For lots of time outside.

It’s all about assurance,

That you won’t cause him pain,

And if he will cooperate,

You know his trust you’ll gain.

It’s that way with the Spirit,

He is our Teacher, too,

And if we let Him show us,

He brings relief it’s true.

The Spirit wins our spirit,

From the inside out,

He works with us so gently,

To conquer every doubt.

“For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s own children.” (Romans 8:16, NLT)

How did God make you sure that you are a child of God? He promises assurance to His children, so how did He make you sure? I’ve asked many people that question, and some admit that they’ve never really been sure about it. Sometimes they feel sure, but not consistently. Many times their assurance is based on how well they feel that they are performing their God-given “oughts.” There are lots of them. We ought to pray, forgive everyone, read the Bible, be morally pure, never wasteful of money or time, love everyone even enemies, etc., etc. The problem with that approach is that one can never really be sure. And as long as assurance depends upon us, we never will be. But God has said His Spirit can make us certain that we’re God’s kids and are ready for heaven when we die. It’s based upon the grace He gives us through Jesus, and our faith in that promise. If you believe Jesus died for you and was raised from the dead, but you’re still not sure, what else needs to happen? Here’s the answer: surrender. If we will surrender control to Him, He promises to make us sure. Are we willing to fully cooperate by letting go the reins of every area of our lives. We trade control for assurance, simple as that.

Lord, help us surrender entirely to Your control in our lives. Give us Your assurance, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Steve Boaldin, artofacowboy.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Steve, and God bless you.