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In A World of Uncertainty, We Have Assurance in Christ

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“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers pray for us.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-25)

In reading these two passages of scripture in my quiet time, it dawned on me that, through God’s grace, He is my assurance and my certainty in times when things are not. This is something I know, but for some reason, I need the reminder because I let stress and anxiety overshadow that fact.

Now, please read all of Psalm 4 to really appreciate that statement, especially verses 6 and 7. Go ahead … I will wait …  Now that you have read Psalm 4, do you understand? 

In the Psalms, David tells us not to sin if we get angry but to ponder the things in our hearts, offer the right sacrifices, put our trust in the Lord, and lastly to sleep and dwell in safety.  When we read 1 Thessalonians we read commands - commands to rejoice always, pray all the time, give thanks in all things, avoid stress and strife, not to despise, to test all things, hold on to what is good, and stay away from evil. The Lord calls us to be faithful and blameless. 

How do these two passages bring us assurances in Christ and tie together? In 1 Thessalonians 5:24, we see that God is faithful. We see this in Psalms 4 as well, which is why David was able to sleep and dwell in safety. David knew where his safety came from. He knew who he could count on, even though he had lots of reasons to be fearful. David – who ran from enemies, lived in caves at times, and made massive mistakes – knew who to turn to for forgiveness, for help, for security, and for safety. The Lord was faithful to David each time, too. Just like we see in 1 Thessalonians. We have hope because we have a Lord who is one of hope and truth, who is holy and sovereign, and full of grace and love. He just asks that we come to Him in faith, repent of our sins, and walk-in obedience with Him. He desires us to have a relationship with Him and to be close to Him. In this time of uncertainty, are you clinging to Christ the King? Are you walking close to our Lord and Savior? 

Things are hard right now. They are scary, unnerving, and even frustrating; but we serve and love a Lord who never changes, never gives up, and who knows what tomorrow holds. The Lord who created our universe created you and desires you to come to Him in right sacrifice, by confessing your sins and walking with Him. 

How are you dealing with those feelings and those things? Are you getting angry or are you going to you Lord and seeking His face in all of this? Are you seeking His will?  Most importantly, are you asking Him what He wants you to learn or know in what is going on?  What is the Lord teaching you in this time or asking you to do? 

If you are seeking ways to grow closer to Christ, reach out to someone you look up to who can show you the right ways to read your Bible and pray. If you do not have such a person in your life, reach out to the church or women’s ministry to help you find someone so that you may be discipled as Christ commanded us to go and do (Matthew 28:16-20). There is nothing sweeter than spending time with the Lord, and the more you do, the more you will dwell in His safety and peace – even if the world around you is not.

Meaghan Hart

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