Holding on to Assurance When Our Hearts Are Troubled
Article – Holding On to Assurance When Our Hearts Are Troubled
Brothers and Sisters, how many times do we simply feel like we are not saved. We know the gospel. We know that Jesus Christ died for sinners, was buried, and rose again. We may have walked with the Lord for many years, and yet there are mornings when we wake up and wonder, “Lord, am I really Yours?” Our prayers seem dry. God's Word does not seem as sweet as it once did. Sin weighs heavily upon our conscience. Perhaps a trial has beaten us down, temptation has worn us thin, or God simply seems distant.
The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Chapter 18:4 reminds us that the assurance of a true believer may be “shaken, decreased, or temporarily lost.” Notice that the Confession does not say that salvation itself is lost. It says our assurance of salvation may be shaken. Beloved, losing the comfort and assurance of our salvation, does not mean you have lost your salvation.
We must remember this simple truth: Our feelings are real, but our feelings are not always reliable. There are days when we feel close to God and days when we feel far from Him. There are days when our faith seems strong and days when it seems barely alive. However, our salvation does not rest upon the strength of our feelings. It rests upon the finished work of Jesus Christ alone.
Think about Peter. Jesus knew that Peter was going to fail terribly. Peter would deny Him three times. Yet, before Peter ever denied Him, Jesus said something remarkable. Luke 22:31–32 says, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Jesus did not say Peter would never stumble. He said Peter's faith would not fail. Peter would fall, but he would return. Why? Because ultimately Peter's security did not depend upon Peter's grip upon Christ, but Christ had His grip upon Peter. That is good news for us.
Sometimes our assurance is shaken because of sin. David knew something about this. After his terrible sin, he did not write Psalm 51 as a man comfortable with himself. His conscience was wounded. His joy was gone. He felt the terrible weight of what he had done.
Psalm 51:8 says, “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.” Then David prayed: Psalm 51:12 says, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Note, David did not ask God to “Restore my salvation.” He said, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and wounds our conscience. The answer is not to run away from Christ. The answer is to run to Christ.
Sometimes assurance is shaken not because we have fallen into some great sin, but because we are simply walking through darkness. There are seasons when God allows His children to experience trials that seem almost unbearable. We pray, but Heaven seems silent. We read our Bible, but our heart feels cold. We worship, but we do not experience the warmth we once knew. The Psalmist understood this. Psalm 42:5 says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.”
I love the honesty of that verse. The Psalmist does not pretend everything is fine. His soul is cast down. There is turmoil within him. Still, notice what he does. He begins preaching to himself. “Hope in God.” There are times when we must do the same thing. When your heart says, “God has forgotten me,” answer your heart with Scripture.
Our assurance grows stronger when we stop staring endlessly at ourselves and look to Jesus. John 6:37 says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” That is not a promise built upon how strongly you feel today. That is the promise of Jesus Christ.
We must also understand that there is a difference between weak faith and no faith. A trembling soul can receive the same Christ that a strong soul receives. Our salvation is not based upon the strength of faith, but upon the strength of the Savior who holds us.
This is why the Confession says that even when assurance is greatly shaken, the true believer is never completely without “the seed of God, the life of faith, love of Christ and the brethren, sincerity of heart, or conscience concerning their duty.” The fire may seem very small, but there are still embers beneath the ashes. 1 John 3:9 says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
God does not abandon the work He has begun. Regeneration is not one and done. God gives spiritual life. The Holy Spirit takes up residence within the believer. We may stumble badly, but this brings us back to something we have talked about many times: God preserves His people, therefore His people persevere. Our assurance may rise and fall, but God's faithfulness does not. Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
The Christian life is not one long mountaintop experience. There are valleys. There are dark nights. There are battles with sin. There are tears. Yet, the God who began the work is the God who finishes the work. This is why we must be careful not to measure our salvation by how we feel on any particular day. If I wake up tomorrow feeling wonderfully close to God, I am not more justified than I am today. If I wake up discouraged and spiritually dry, I am not less justified.
Justification is God's declaration concerning the sinner who has trusted in Christ. Our standing before God rests upon Christ's righteousness, not our emotional condition. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It does not say there is no condemnation for those who feel like they are in Christ Jesus. The question is not ultimately, “How strongly do I feel saved?” The question is, “In whom do I have faith?”
Are you resting in your own goodness? Your church attendance? Your baptism? Your service? Your Bible reading? Your emotions? Your ability to remember the exact moment of your conversion? None of these can save you. Our assurance must finally bring us back to Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived the righteous life we could never live. At the cross He willingly bore the judgment sinners deserve. He shed His blood as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He died. He was buried and on the third day He rose from the grave. Salvation is found in Him alone. The sinner is called to repent and believe the gospel, resting completely upon Jesus Christ and His finished work.
Loved ones, when assurance grows weak, we return to that same gospel. We do not graduate from the gospel. We may need to confess sin and repent, then seek the counsel and prayers of our brothers and sisters. After doing all of that, our hope still rests in exactly the same place: Jesus Christ. God knows how to revive the weary soul. The dark season does not have to last forever. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, assurance, and I love these words, “at the proper time may be revived.”
So, my cherished Brothers and Sisters, when you do not feel saved, do not begin with your feelings. Begin with Christ. Open God's Word. Remember His promises. Confess your sins. Pray even when prayer feels difficult. Worship even when your heart feels heavy. Stay close to the church. Let your brothers and sisters carry you when you are weak. And above all, keep looking to Jesus.
Your assurance may shake, but Christ does not. Your feelings may change, but His promises do not. Your faith may sometimes feel weak, but your Savior is never weak. The struggling believer may walk through darkness, but God has not forgotten where His child is.
Our assurance is sweetest when we understand that salvation from beginning to end is God's grace. The Father chose a people for Himself, the Son accomplished their redemption, and the Holy Spirit gives life, seals, sanctifies, strengthens, and keeps them. Therefore, when assurance grows dim, we do not look deeper and deeper within ourselves trying to manufacture a feeling. We look outward and upward to Christ.
So, when your heart asks, “Am I really saved?” Do not merely ask how you feel today. Ask where your hope rests. If your hope rests in Jesus Christ, keep looking to Him. The sheep may sometimes lose sight of the Shepherd. But the Shepherd never loses sight of His sheep.
