Blessed Assurance

When my husband was in the hospital, the days had a new routine…again. My son, Justin, and I had been through this routine before in other cities. We got up, got ready for the day, he went to daycare, I went to the ICU waiting room at the hospital.

I visited in the waiting room with people who come by to check on Slick and on me. I visited Slick when the hospital unit allowed. Slick and I tried to write notes when he was coherent; his pain medications gave him hallucinations. He was unable to talk because he is on a ventilator. Some of his notes made sense. Some did not, and my lack of understanding caused him frustration at the time.

Then, visiting hours ended. I picked up Justin from my mom’s. We went home to unwind, prepared him to go to sleep while I fielded numerous phone calls from people waiting for the latest news on Slick, and then I finally got the courage to turn off all the lights and tried to sleep myself.

One Sunday morning, our routine changed slightly. One of the nurses in the ICU asked if Justin would like to see his father. The hospital rules did not allow Justin to visit his father because Justin was not old enough to enter the ICU. The nursing supervisor, however, was not on duty, and the other nurse wanted Justin to see his father, perhaps for the last time. So, with her help, I snuck Justin inside the unit to his father’s side. I showed him around the small room and the pretty view of the flowers and birds outside the window.

Justin wasn’t afraid of the machines and wires hooked to his father. Of course, Justin wasn’t afraid of much anyway. One daycare worker had asked me to teach Justin to be afraid of the water in the swimming pool. No, I would not teach him to be afraid; but I would teach him to respect the power that deep water might have. By his father’s side, Justin asked questions. I answered them. I don’t remember what he asked. He looked at his dad and touched him. He was so good. He showed no fear and didn’t make a scene; thus, we avoided getting the nurse in trouble.

That was our only opportunity for him to see his dad in the six weeks Slick spent in ICU.

I’m still in awe of the lack of fear in my son. He did not receive that in his DNA. Justin seemed to have an assurance from birth. Both of his parents had issues with confidence in themselves. However, by the time Justin arrived, my husband and I had both grown in being less fearful. Our daughter, Megan, our first child, had taught us many lessons about parenting and tackling difficult situations. We had seen the mighty work God had done. My self-confidence had to be taught by the Lord.

Assurances these days are hard to find. There are so many uncertainties while the world experiences a pandemic called Covid-19. People have no assurance of their health, their finances, or their future. We might have an opinion which is based on very few known facts because most of us are not privy to all the facts. What we do not have right now are answers to our many questions.

One thing I have learned is that life itself is not an assurance. Life on this earth is not guaranteed to last for eternity or even until we want it to last. The Bible tells us this in Deuteronomy 28:66— “So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.”

Is there anything in which I can have assurance? Yes!

Our assurance in uncertain times (and aren’t they all uncertain?) comes from God.

God the Father rescued us from living in eternal darkness by transferring us to His Son’s kingdom. To be rescued, we must receive God’s Son, Jesus, by believing that He died for our sin which would send us to the domain of darkness. Only through Jesus can we be redeemed, or purchased back from evil. Once we accept Jesus as our Redeemer, He presents us to the Father as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach. We must then “proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” As we continue in our faith, our labor encourages the hearts of others, knits us together in love, and attains all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding. (my paraphrase of Colossians 1:13 – 2:2)

We can be assured of understanding that results in a “true knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ Himself.”

We can KNOW Jesus Himself! We can have the full assurance of understanding Him.

With knowing Jesus, we are transferred to His kingdom. We are presented to God as holy. We have the assurance of eternal life with Jesus in His kingdom.

John 6:40-- “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

Paul stated in Colossians, that we are to continue in our faith.

Hebrews 6:11 – And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end.

By being faithful and pressing “on to maturity,” we have the assurance of hope until the end.

Perseverance in our faith is an evidence of salvation. So, if I remain faithful to Christ, I have the assurance that I will receive what God has promised in His Word.

Hebrews 10:22 – Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Why? Because we have a great priest over the house of God.

Because Jesus is our High Priest, we have the full assurance of faith. With faith, we believe that Jesus is our Savior and Lord. With faith, we press on with perseverance during the difficult, uncertain times in order to be assured of hope. With faith and perseverance, we obtain endurance. The result of endurance is to be complete, not lacking in anything. ASSURANCE of all things! With faith! (James 1)

My son knew that Slick was his father and that his father loved him no matter where the two of them were at any moment—together or apart. I see that same knowledge in my granddaughter; she knows her Daddy loves her and she loves her Daddy.

I know my heavenly Father loves me and desires me to have everything I need. What I need through these challenging days is Him.