“And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” Hebrews 10:21-22a (NIV)
I’m old enough to remember singing hymns in church every Sunday. One I have strong memories of is Fanny Crosby’s Blessed Assurance. We sang it at many Wednesday-night suppers at the Baptist church of my childhood.
The first verse says: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of God. Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”
This lyric, like our verse for today, tells us the source of all assurance: Jesus.
What are you assured of? According to Hebrews 10, the assurance for Jesus’ present-day disciples is this: Christ Jesus has fully forgiven your sins, and He has perfected you. No wonder Fanny Crosby called it blessed assurance.
The hymn’s first verse names four additional blessings you have in Christ: a glorious future; salvation; you are born of His Spirit; you are washed clean by Jesus’ blood.
Scripture affirms all of these truths about your identity in Christ.
Do you struggle to remember how strongly you are assured of glorious relationship with God? Do you forget that you can draw near to Him without shame or fear? Rejoice! Your forgetfulness does not mean these realities aren’t true.
The chorus of Crosby’s hymn holds an additional clue for how to walk in your assurance. Twice the chorus repeats this line: “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.”
If you sing the hymn’s three verses all the way through, you will assert a testimony of Christ in your life six times. Repetition of truth does something significant to your soul. So does focusing on Jesus in praise. Accept into your life the blessed assurance of identity in Christ. Make it your story. Make it your song.
Reflect: Do you find it easy or difficult to draw near to God in full assurance of Him welcoming you?
Loving God, thank You that, in Christ, I am assured that I am forgiven, that I can draw near to You, and that I have a glorious future. Help me to live in this assurance today.
I can draw near to God in full assurance of forgiveness. I am assured in Christ.
From Fully Known, Fully Loved: A 30-Day Journey of Your Identity in Christ.