“As he has done so often in his previous writings, William P. Smith gets right to the cry of my heart in his latest book: “Assurance-Resting in God’s Salvation.” Rather than toying with my minor fears or batting a few Scriptures in the general direction of my lesser concerns, Smith instead begins by expounding on a number of substantive passages about God. And once he has our hearts focused on exactly where they ought to be, he then asks the million dollar question for all of us who struggle with weak faith and loud, distracting doubts:
“Are you used to thinking of God as someone who cares about doubters and who cares about what they need to believe and trust him?”
Hmmmmm. And—Ouch! Good question, Pastor Smith. Am I used to thinking of God in this way? Honestly, I would have to say, “No.” I can’t really claim that I am rock-solid in meditating on, memorizing, and joyfully proclaiming the passages of Scripture that remind me that God is someone who cares about doubters. But now I see how important it is that I get this part of the discussion right.
The only hope I have for strengthening my assurance and minimizing my doubts is to understand what God has revealed about himself and his work in relation to people like me. People who try so hard to be brave and loving, but who become fearful after repeated times of getting kicked down, gracelessly criticized, and alienated by professing Christians. It can be extremely hard to know how to “cast out” those fears by God’s “perfect love” (1 John 4:18).
In “Assurance,” William P. Smith directs us right to the Source: “God expected doubt to be a real problem for many of his people and he did something about it. He talked openly about your struggles and doubt and wrote down what you need to do to be more certain of God’s love for you.”
Consider just a few of the points Smith makes:
- We can be honest about our doubts. No more hiding! No more pretending!
- We can help one another to run right into the confident, secure arms of the True God.
- God’s message to us, over and over again, is that he is the one who calls us eagerly to trust that he is strengthening our faith; he is helping us to have more and stronger confidence in him.
- Jesus is praying continually for us (Hebrews 7:25).
If I had to summarize William P. Smith’s book, “Assurance,” in three words, they would be:
God has you.
Before there was time (Ephesians 1), God had you. As he formed you in your mother’s womb (Isaiah 44), God had you. God is above, below, ahead, behind you (Psalm 139). Even in the storms of life, he will keep you in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). So-called friends (who only pretend to be friends) may abandon you (Proverbs 18:24), but God will never abandon you. In life. In death. In eternity to come, God has you. Rest in the assurance that God has you.
But what about those of us who are really struggling in the valley of weeping, the dark night of the soul? Maybe we are so angry, scared, or bitter, that we have given up on the struggle and we are just sort of existing in a miserable, troubled life? As Pastor Smith so ably reminds us, the fact that our doubts trouble us is actually a sweet assurance from Christ that we really are his! When sadness weighs us down because we lack assurance that we are God’s children, that sadness is our assurance! To wonder if we are his? To worry if we are his? Those simply are not the thoughts of an unregenerate person.
So wherever you are in your spiritual and emotional life today, Run to God. Worship him. Enjoy him. Listen to his Word and wrap up in the assurances found in each picture, poem, history, genealogical list, proverb, prophecy, and song. Your Heavenly Father chose you before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1). Even when you are at your worst, his love for you never wavers (Psalm 86:5). As his kindness leads you to repentance (Romans 2:4), return to your gracious and merciful God. Be assured of his steadfast love for you (Joel 2:13).
(And thank you, yet again, William P. Smith, for lavishing such biblical, Christ-centered teachings on us all. You help us to trust in God and rest in HIS assurances.).”
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William P. Smith has served several churches, been a faculty member of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, and taught practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is the author of Parenting with Words of Grace and Loving Well (Even If You Haven’t Been).
