Assurance Comes from Abiding
- Michael Smith
- Feb 2, 2009
Assurance Comes from Abiding
Reasons we believe the lies about ourselves is we have been taught since childhood to do what's right and be rewarded, do something wrong and be punished.
If things are continually going wrong in our life and we are not feeling blessed or rewarded then we assume we are being punished.
We must be undeserving to receive blessing. We develop a since of feeling inadequate, unworthy, unloved a failure.
We need to realize and settle once and for all, we are not deserving. There is not one good. It is the kindness of God that even leads us to repentance.
Our value and worthiness comes from our Father because we are in Christ. Its His finished work at the cross that we are able to confidently face the issues of our life with full assurance.
As log as we base our self worth and value on our own efforts and feelings we will always be on a roller coaster of emotions.
With every failure we are reminded of our short comings with self talk of, I'm so stupid, I can't do anything right, I'll never make it, God can't possibly love me, I am such a failure.
No I am a child of God who did a stupid thing or I failed at something. But we are not failures or stupid.
One defines an action the other defines our worth.
We can not depend on our own opinions of ourselves supported by lies. Christ and Christ alone is our rock. His opinion of us and His only are what we are to listen to. We are to resist the lies and the devil will flee.
Each time we are confronted with a lie or twisted version of the truth, we have an opportunity to resist and trust our Father's word to us. His opinion and approval is all we need.
How we obtain that assurance is by abiding in Him.
In our relationships with friends, family etc. we develop trust due to time spent together and becoming familiar with each other.
It is more so with the Lord in fact it is paramount that we spend time with Him. In His word, in prayer, just spending time with Him. Because it is out of that relationship that we become assured that He loves us and will work all things together for our good.
From that abiding we develop a relationship of trust and love. We begin to act in confidence out of our relation with our Father. Where its no longer what we read about Him and what He can do or will do. It is now written on the tablets of our hearts. It is now a quiet rest that our times are in His capable hands and He is for us. And nothing can separate us from Him.
All trials and difficulties should lead us into His presence for comfort, assurance, peace and direction.
Sadly many of us try and hold out until times of difficulty pass or try in some way to manage our problems in our own efforts. Or we use escape mechanisms like being busy, T.V. sleep whatever to avoid or escape.
There is a place of abiding where we can go about our daily lives being fully assured that we can rest in our Father, that we can trust the outcome to Him. Because of our abiding in Him we drawn closer to Him. We then begin to know Him and His thoughts concerning us. Which grows into a deepening relationship of communion with Him. And out of that relationship we mature into the fulness stature of Christ.
Many times our self talk is so full of lies we have accepted about ourselves. Lies that we are unable, inadequate, insignificant. We literally entertain these lies and accept them as our own thoughts. When actually they are lies from the devil which have only our feelings for proof.
The lies though are easier to believe, aren't they?
Just like the children of Israel, they allowed themselves to believe a lie concerning who they were when Caleb and Joshua confidently said lets go up at once and take the land for we shall surly overcome it.
Its amazing how no one comes to us saying we are a failure, we are ugly, we have no value, etc. Yet we tell ourselves these lies because we do not know who we are. We have listen to these lies for so long we think they are our own thoughts. When nothing could be farther from the truth.
We continually base who we believe ourselves to be on our ability to perform and our ever changing feelings.
God could stand here in person telling us of His love for us but we still would have to choose to believe it.
We have to choose to believe His great love for us and His unconditional approval of us. To believe His opinion of us over the lies that daily bombard our minds.
The world conditions us to believe we need to be pretty, be successful, have a great body, have material possessions and none of these things determine our value and worth.
Our value and worth are found in Christ as we believe and receive His love for us.
