Too often the response of some facing death, when asked if they are ready to meet the Lord, has been, “I hope so, or I think so.” Such an answer often indicates that the individual is not secure in their faith or they have placed their faith in something other than in Christ alone. Such responses are always an opportunity to encourage a person with the Truth that they can know that their eternal destiny will be with the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote to the young pastor Timothy, --
… “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”(II Tim 1:12)
That is a person with confidence, with absolute assurance, with firm conviction. That kind of trust in the Lord is sufficient to live by and to die by. But there is more surety for the believer. The Apostle John, in writing to his congregation and ultimately to us, reminds us that the Scriptures document themselves so that there will be no wavering or doubting of God’s eternal Word. John wrote --
“these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”(1 John 5:13)
God wants us to know. God is never the God of indecision, or of confusion. He desires that we rest confidently in His Word. That is why one of the oldest characters in Scripture, by the name of Job, could make such profound statements concerning the Christ, thousands of years before the Cross. Recall that Job looked down the corridors of time by means of faith and declared --
… “for I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.”(Job 19:25)
The Cross had not occurred as of yet, nor had the resurrection, yet Job with confidence believed what God had said for he knew by faith that God could not lie. The psalmist left no room for doubt when he wrote concerning in whom we should place our trust.
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”(Ps 118:8- 9)
The result of faith placed in the person of Christ gives the individual peace with God. Isaiah, God’s prophet to Israel said it so beautifully and profoundly --
…“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, for he trusteth in Thee.”(Isa. 26:3)