Lately, if you’ve been keeping up with my musings, I’ve been marinating on the beautiful hymn “Blessed Assurance”. Sometimes we need that reminder that Jesus is, indeed, our blessed assurance. When we abide with him, and he in us, a beautiful symbiotic relationship develops. It is not because of anything we have done or ever will do, save one – surrendering our lives to him and allowing him to lead us in all things.

Verses one and two of the hymn remind us how amazing it is to have Jesus in our lives and gives us a glimpse into life eternal in heaven. Verse three is, in my opinion, more representative of what the Christian life is to be like.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

watching and waiting, looking above,

filled with His goodness, lost in His love

When we choose to submit our lives to Jesus, we find a peace that surpasses any human understanding (Philippians 4:7). When we abide with Jesus, we find ourselves in a state of blessing despite the challenges that life throws at us. We know, on a level that sometimes weirds people out, the goodness of God during times of trials. And understand the love he has for his people. Our calling as believers is to share this love, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control with the world around us. When we marinate in God’s love, we want to share the life we have found in Christ with those we love. It is impossible to keep this love to ourselves.

The line “watching and waiting, looking above” reminds us that we are to have our sight set on the things of God, not the things of mankind. Colossians 3:2 -4 states “Keep thinking about things above, not things on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him”. This verse is encapsulated in the third line of the verse. When we watch and wait and keep our minds on the things of Christ, we are more likely to be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as we go about the work of the Lord.

As you are living your life for Christ, are you watching and waiting for him? Are you looking for where God is leading your life? Do you trust him to lead you into his good and perfect will? As we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the risen Savior, I challenge you (and me) to practice watching and waiting. I pray we all will become more sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as we live our faith out loud in a world that is growing increasingly dark and filled with despair.

God Bless you all during this Lenten season.