If you have not listened to our latest podcast episode, definitely go check it out: Isaac and I revealed our words and verses for 2024. With that being said, my word for 2024 is assurance.
My verse for the year is Hebrews 11:1, which says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
See, for most of my life, I have battled fear. Fear of the endless what-if, worst case scenarios my mind can come up with. And, when a scary what-if presents itself, I search for some type of tangible evidence that I can see and grab onto to assure me that everything is okay.
The thing is, though, the source of our assurance cannot be anything from this world because nothing from this world is secure. Our assurance must come exclusively from God and His Word.
When I reflected today on my 2024 word and verse, the Lord reminded me of a moment that is forever etched into my memory.
I have told this story in a blog post before, but one day, before my mamaw passed away, I asked her of all of the lessons she had learned over the course of her life, what was the #1 piece of advice she would give me. I remember bracing myself for some profound, mind-blowing advice, and she looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Put all of your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and everything will work out for the best."
I remember being surprised by how simple (and obvious) it was. But, in reality, it was more profound and mind-blowing than whatever I expected her to say possibly could have been.
Looking back, I believe with all of my heart that the Holy Spirit gave her those words to say to me because I would need to go back to that advice later. Again and again. Now, I find myself in a similar place at the beginning of 2024. I will not get into the details, but I am walking through some difficult things in my life that feel impossible to get out of. Right now, I feel stuck and see no way out.
Will I trust God and have assurance that He will work everything out even when I cannot actually see anything in my situation suggesting that?
Biblical assurance is not something physical that we can see with our eyes: it is assurance of what we do not see. We have assurance based on God's promises found in His Word, not in what we can see in our current circumstances.
I know this truth in my head, but I need the Holy Spirit to work it into my heart this year. I need Him to help me trust Him and His Word so radically that I have assurance even when circumstances seem like they cannot get any worse.
As I dig into Hebrews 11 this year, I hope and pray that God gives me the faith of all of the names mentioned in that chapter. They trusted God in the face of impossible situations, and He came through every single time. I want that faith. I want that assurance. May the Lord work it in me in 2024.
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