"Thin Thread"

Caught that crazy cow that day,

And jerked my slack up tight,

Roped her clean around the horns,

And dallied off just right.

Jerked her on the trailer,

Though she thought about a balk,

But didn’t give her time to,

Just made that hussy walk.

But when I took the rope off,

I saw it was thread bare,

Held her by a real thin thread,

Just barely had her there.

And sometimes that’s what life’s about,

There by a single thread,

Things could have gone another way,

Close calls, that’s what I said.

The moment comes, you say a word,

From there events progress,

And that little seed you spoke,

Cleans up or makes a mess.

Sometimes you are right on time,

And in the perfect place,

To do some good or cause some harm,

Your presence sets the pace.

The thinnest thread, the nearest miss,

The time you lost or won,

The biggest fish that got away,

Or caught, you got it done.

The swing and miss or that home run,

So close and yet so far,

The almost famous yet unknown,

Thin thread, but no cigar.

And when the preacher preached on hell,

And by the thinnest thread,

Dangled you right o’er the fire,

And then he clearly said,

Are you sure that you are saved,

And under that hot threat,

I wasn’t sure so I said no,

And prayed and cried, you bet.

But that thin thread it bothered me,

I never was quite sure,

Until I understood one thing,

That God’s love would endure.

Then I surrendered all to Him,

I gave up all control,

That’s when I got the witness,

Of the Spirit in my soul.

Thin threads in life, there’s good and bad,

As I’ve explained to you,

But when it comes to being saved,

Just make sure that it’s true.

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16, NIV)

Paul tells us that the assurance that we are God’s children is a gift. The Holy Spirit, who has always been with us, comes to live inside of us when we give our lives to Jesus. Our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Christ lives through us. The indwelling Spirit has a testimony or witness. he is the one that lets us know that we indeed belong to God and are His children. He is the One who makes us sure. There is only one way for this to happen with certainty, and that is to surrender control of our lives to Jesus. Full surrender will bring full assurance. Once we relinquish control, He lets us know in unmistakable ways. My mother used to say, “I know it in my knower.” She was right.

Lord, make us sure, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Teal Blake, used by permission. Thanks, Teal, and God bless you.