Blessed Assurance

Hebrews 10:22 says, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (KJV).

Perhaps this Scripture was the inspiration for the beloved hymn Blessed Assurance written by Franny J. Crosby.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

There is a place of divine rest when we learn to wait on the Lord. We surrender our lives into His loving hands reserving no place for self ambition. We invite Him to search, try and test our hearts (Psalms 139:23). In other words, we simply say yes to Him.

True faith must be tested and refined like gold (1 Peter 1:7) otherwise it's not faith but a mere empty wish with little or no expectation of God actually responding. Waiting teaches to rest on His word regardless to what we feel or want to be done in that moment.

Beloved, waiting is not a passive act as if it requires no action on our part. No, we must press into Him with greater love and devotion. This is not done to manipulate Him (as if He could be) but to hear what He's has to say regarding our petition. God will always go to the root cause to why we pray the things we do.

No matter the need and how pressing it might cause us to react we have to recall Psalms 27:14. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (KJV). God gives us the strength and grace to wait rather than take matters into our own hands. When we patiently wait on God our strength is renewed and He is greatly pleased we give Him time to respond to our petitions.

Waiting has a way of giving perspective to what seemed so urgent turns out be less of an emergency than first thought. Perhaps some things can't wait but if we learn to pray before taking any action and committing it into His hands we will find a blessed assurance of rest.

As so many of us have learned impatience makes for a lack of peace. God will help still our hearts and minds long enough so we can hear Him to speak to us. His peace speaks to the anxious storms in our minds so we can stand in awe of Him and be still (Psalms 4:4).