"Know"

When I say I believe it,

It’s based on what I know,

Not just somebody’s hearsay,

That flew by on the go.

If I say he is gentle,

That good horse that I ride,

You can sure count on it,

I’m never tryin’ to hide,

The truth about that pony,

Like those who sometimes shade,

Those old, evil habits,

That their horse may have made.

If I say you can shoe him,

That’s just what I mean,

He’ll stand there still, no battle,

You can nail those horseshoes clean.

If I tell you, y’all can load him,

There won’t be some surprise,

‘Cause we have spent time with him,

With the trailer harmonize.

And, yes, he’ll watch the cattle,

And, yes, we’ve used to rope,

Dragged calves to the fire,

And you won’t have to cope,

With some silly, strange behavior,

We rode that out of him,

With lots of those wet blankets,

So chances are real thin,

That you will have a problem,

That’s what I do believe,

The horse that I’m describing,

You really could receive.

The same is true for Jesus,

My faith is what I know,

Because I have experienced,

The One to whom I go.

And His love is so constant,

His power is so real,

His presence ever with us,

It’s something you can feel.

So, yes, I do believe it,

And recommend to you,

I know it in my knower,

And you can know it, too.

“I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life…” (1 John 5:13, NLT)

Believing in Jesus triggers saving grace. But it’s not just some sort of intellectual agreement with the facts of the Gospel as presented. Faith includes intellectual assent, but goes deeper. It is an issue of trust and personal surrender. When faith becomes commitment, there is a definite shift to a “knowing” that we otherwise never experience. John said that he wrote so that we could know we have eternal life. Do you know this, or is it a hope-so, maybe-so, think-so kind of proposition. God wants us to have full assurance about our eternal destiny. We can truly know it, because He can make us sure about it. If you are unsure, trade control for assurance.

Lord, help us to believe so that we may know that we have received eternal life, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Anne Hanson, used by permission. Thanks, Anne, and God bless you.