Be Sure

Recently there have been countless stories of pain, terror, and sin that are controlling our attentions in the news. People are suffering and they are experiencing anguish and death that I can’t even imagine. As we see this happen, it is easy to ask ourselves where can we find our hope in a world that seems so hopeless. As I am continuing to experience life as an adult, I am finding that there are at least a few things that are certain. One: there will be pain in this life. I mean, God told us in John 16:33, “in this world you will have trouble.” We will see and experience pain and hardship on a daily basis. Secondly: there will be uncertainties and doubts. If we look at Peter in the Gospels, Jesus called him out on the water. But Peter immediately sank as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus. As soon as he started to doubt he fell through. We will experience this as well. So even though there are certain uncertainties, here is an interesting question. Where is the hope in this? If this world is full of brokenness and uncertainty, where is the hope? How can we have faith in a world that constantly lets us down?

The answer to that is we can’t. There is no hope in THIS world, but there is someone that we can put our hope in. Even though John 16:33 says we will have trouble, there is a conclusion to that verse. It says, “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have OVERCOME the world.” Jesus is the hope because He is GREATER than anything this world can throw at us. 1 John 4:4 says, “…but greater is the one living inside of you than he who is living in the world.” There is no pain, no anguish, no experience we will face that God hasn’t already overcome. So in this way, we can have assurance of hope and salvation through Christ. We can BE SURE that God is in control and that He will save us from this wretched place. No doubts, no fear, because Christ promised salvation through Him. And the same God that said “there will be trials in this world” is the same God that said, “take heart, I have overcome the world.” There is no greater hope than this! And because of it, we can face the pain in this world with the assurance of knowing that someone has gone before us to overcome it. My prayer for this song is that it will be a blessing for those going through difficult times or experiencing doubt. May we always remember that Christ has overcome the world through his resurrection. We can be sure that He is our hope.

How sure my salvation,

How sure sins undone.

How sure my forgiveness.

Redemption through one.

My blessed assurance, how sure is his love?

Be still in his presence.

Be sure in the son.