If one should ask
of me, how can I tell?...
As sure as night follows day and summer follows spring, the time will
come in the life of a Believer when he or she will question his or her salvation.
The Enemy is well aware of this period and uses it to full measure.
The primary target of the salvation experience is our spirit. When we
were saved, our bodies didn’t change and our minds didn’t get a clean slate. Our
freckles, birthmarks and scars remained as they were; and though our minds may
have experienced an emotional thrill, that thrill soon fades off.
But thank God our salvation does not depend on the unreliable feedback
from our five senses nor from the shifting moods of our emotions. 1Jn 5:10 tells
us that, “He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself;” According
to Rom 8:16, the Holy Spirit is that witness. It says, “The Spirit Himself
bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
This is a primary function of the Holy Spirit in us: constant
reassurance of our sonship. Satan also ‘witnesses’ to our hearts; but his
ministry is that of nagging, fault- finding, second-guessing and condemnation.
P. P. Bliss beautifully captures both contrasting ‘ministries’ in the
verses of his well-known hymn on the love of God:
God’s Holy Spirit
with mine doth agree,
Constantly
witnessing Jesus loves me.
Satan, dismayed,
from my soul now doth flee,
When I just tell
him that Jesus loves me.
1Jn 3:20 says “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our
heart, and knows all things.”
It is your knowledge
of the love of God that helps you discern which voice is speaking. The Holy
Spirit will always affirm God’s eternal love for you; Satan will always tell
you the opposite.
As you meditate more
and more on the blessed love the Father has shown to you, I pray you receive
greater discernment to single out the steady, reassuring voice of the Good Shepherd
residing inside your heart.
AMEN.
More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.
GREG ELKAN
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