"Blessed Assurance"

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Blessed Assurance
Words by Fanny Crosby, 1873
Music by Phoebe P. Knapp, 1873

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O 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
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OK, so this is an old hymn and many of us have heard it more times than we can count, but when is the last time you took a moment to really read and pay attention to the words? Me? Longer ago than I'd like to admit. I do love old hymns and though I like all the new stuff too, I really wish we heard more of the older hymns and gospels.

I'm lucky enough to have the privilege to play what I like at the office and usually have it tuned in to a local Christian music station. Most of the time it just serves as background music and a lot of that time I'm singing along more out of habit than really paying attention, but even then on some level it is soothing and a blessing to my day. Anyway, occasionally something will really catch me to the point of grabbing my full attention. Today it was a newer version of the above hymn (sorry, I don't know for sure who was singing it) and I stopped what I was doing to really listen to the words and got so absorbed that I had to "google" them and read them through several times...

Am I resting in that most blessed assurance that Jesus is mine?
Do I realize just by the foretaste how sweet the divine glory is really going to be?
I am His heir through salvation and purchased at a very dear price by the God of the universe.
Am I telling my story and singing my song of praises to my Savior all the day long? Especially in the hearing and presence of others that may not know the tune or the words?

Am I delighting in and submitting to my King of kings in every area of my life?
Am I choosing to look toward the coming of Christ with the angels surrounding Him?
Am I listening to His soft and gentle voice whispering love to me and tending me with mercy?
Am I resting in my submission to His plan and recognizing the blessings of being happy just to be in Him?
Am I being diligent in my watchkeep? Waiting and looking above to such an extent that I'm so full of His goodness that there is room for nothing else?
Am I truly lost in His love?

I lot of you know the things that my family is going through right now and let me just say that I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit was the one to grab my attention and guide me through this. It very definitely spoke some peace into my heart this afternoon to be reminded that no matter what I'm walking through, I'm His. And no matter what is going on around me He is there whispering to me of His eternal love and the plans He has for me. And that no matter the outcome of these worldly days, He is coming again and when He does I'll be going with Him!

I hope that you too, have accepted Christ as your Savior through the precious gift of His blood shed on the cross as payment for your sins. If you have, please sing with me of our "Blessed Assurance". If you have not made this decision, He waits for you, He wants to give you all these things and more. I'll be honored to listen if you have any questions, please send me a note.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!