Blessed Assurance

BY Annie Downs

Text: 1 John 4:7-19, Hebrews 10:19-23, 1 Peter 1:3-9

“No one takes care of you except you.”

It’s a lie I hear, over and over again. One I have to battle to make disappear. In a world where being a 30-something single woman is more common than it has ever been before (and, in some ways, probably easier than it was a few decades ago), it can still have its aches and pains, just like any other season of life.

I have dear family and friends who help in any time of need, but when it all comes down to it, I feel like I’m the only one who has my back. It can feel like I have no real assurance of someone else watching out for me, like no one is there to rescue me when I am drowning in a sea of work or finances or laundry or car problems.

This is my story.

For some reason, God has purposed and planned that my best life is right here, right now, even with the hurt and loneliness and worry that come right along with all the incredibly good things. This is what’s true, and the truth wins each and every time—if only I look to it.

Jesus is mine.

I’ve known it since I learned this song as a tiny kid. It is my assurance, that Jesus is mine. When I feel forgotten and think no one sees me, He sees. When I think no one will step in, He always steps in, to provide and protect. When I need to be rescued, He proves, again and again, that rescuing is His specialty in my life (Colossians 1:13).

An assurance, by definition, is a promise that is meant to give us confidence. The writer of this hymn, Fanny Crosby, felt it deep in her soul, enough that as soon as the organ notes were played, the lyrics poured out.

Did you know Fanny Crosby became blind when she was an infant? For nearly the entirety of her life, she lacked what so many of us have: sight. I recognize my own story in hers—in not having what others have.

It’s different, I know. But it’s the same, too, isn’t it? Can’t we all list something others have that we don’t? Something that can’t be earned or bought but is a gift that we just plain haven’t received? I think there’s something really beautiful about loving Jesus right there, right in the middle of that tension, where we recognize the gifts we haven’t been given by our good and perfect Father.

Clearly, I don’t know Fanny Crosby personally, as she died 100 years ago. But I almost feel a little wink from her in the second stanza.

“Visions of rapture now burst on my sight . . .”

It’s like she’s saying, “whatever it is you think I don’t have, I have in Him.”

Without Jesus, without THE blessed assurance, she couldn’t see a thing. But with Him, there were visions of rapture.

Without Jesus, I am the only one who takes care of me. With Jesus, I am never alone. I am loved deeply by God, and therefore, I can love and be loved by others (Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 John 4:7-19).

Whatever it is I think I don’t have, I have in Him.
Whatever it is you think you don’t have, you can have in Him.

Blessed assurance, y’all, Jesus is mine. That’s a promise that brings me great confidence. I pray it brings the same for you.

Preach on, Fanny. We’re listening.

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”
-Hebrews 10:23

Blessed Assurance
Fanny Crosby, 1873

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.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]

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. [Refrain]

 

For an added layer of worship during reading plan, we’ve created a Spotify playlist for Hymns V! You can find the complete SRT/HRT Hymns V Playlist here, or listen to the first track on the player below. Enjoy!