Our thanks to Brendan Armitage for writing this week’s devotion.
We just don’t know much, do we? We’ve heard cries of “fake news”. We’ve been told that the pandemic may be over…or not. That business may reopen soon…or not. That the college my son intends to matriculate at this Fall may start him on his journey to adulthood (please!)…or he might still be at home this September, talking to some adult on his computer (something I distinctly remember telling him not to do just a few short years ago…). In short, we just don’t know. As one of my patients remarked,
“You plan. God laughs.”
It’s not that we don’t try. We buy insurance to protect us from mayhem, like that Dean Winters fellow from the AllState commercials. We try to live with nice neighbors. We save for a rainy day. Some prepper people even turn their basements into zombie-proof fortresses with generators, freeze-dried fondue, and filtered air. But no matter what we do, my patient seems to be right.
You plan. God laughs.
What we need isn’t insurance, is it? It’s assurance, meaning an easy freedom from self-doubt or uncertainty. As much as we plan, we just can’t get that from each other. Chaos we seem to be able to get from our fellow humans. Assurance…that we get from God. Look no further, dear friend, than to our own cranberry hymnal (#638, Adam?) to find “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine”. Not convinced by the title? There’s another line in the same first stanza that gives us the same idea; “Heir of salvation, purchase of God”. Chillax. God is in control and He already bought all the insurance you need.
There’s a wonderful passage from Philippians 4:6-7 that gives us similar good advice, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s face it, we’re not that bright. As much as we try to plan, we’re just not very good at figuring things out. We’re kind of like kids, because we are. Children of God. As Christians, we know that we don’t have to know it all. We all still believe in science. We all know we won’t have this thing behind us until we have testing. We all still look at the weather report to see if we’ll need an umbrella tomorrow. But science doesn’t give us assurance. For that, when you’re tired of hearing/reading/watching the news about “you know what”, just sing this (and pretend Adam has already done the lead-in…)
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 … Perfect submission, all is at rest … I in my Savior am happy and blessed … Watching and waiting, looking above … Filled with His goodness, lost in His love … 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 … See you in church.
