ASSURANCE

Hebrews 10:22,23—Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

Saturday night I was supposed to be at a banquet in Beaverton. Instead I found myself sitting on a broken plane in Denver. The United pilot informed us that a navigational piece of equipment on our jet was not inoperable. We waited for mechanics to fix the broken system and watched as the little red ball in the sky fell out of view. Finally, our good-humored pilot confessed that the job was more complicated than expected. While he could fly the plane to Oregon without the instrument’s help, he elected not to as a matter of safety. He needed the assurance that if anything should go wrong that system would work and warn us should the aircraft be too close to the ground. Because we knew we would be winging over large mountains we clapped our hands in agreement. Finally, almost four hours later, we took off on a different plane United provided.

What was the focus of everyone on that aircraft? It was to reach our intended destination! When confronted with adversity coupled with being stuck in an airport for an extended period, it was amazing how heightened the urge was to get home. But I heard no complaints about our pilot’s decision. We needed assurance that our metal-skinned bird could safely perform.

I am so glad that my Pilot is perfectly able to bring me home. He is not dependent upon equipment. He has no industry-imposed sleep requirements. He is unfazed by the needs of His passengers. While I don’t know when I will arrive at my final destination, there is no doubt that I will reach it. The One Who leads me, has never failed. His love, leadership and wisdom are legendary. He has a perfect safety record. His only crash was deliberate and His enemies were stunned to learn He survived!

The measure of true assurance comes through testing. The ability to look past death with confidence comes through faithfully entrusting our lives to Jesus. He claims to be the only One capable of bringing us to heaven (John 14:6). Do you believe Him?

Inspiration

The reason some of us lack assurance is because we do not continue in what we have tested, something has made us slack off.—Oswald Chambers in As He Walked