There are times in our lives when being sure of something or someone is a matter of great importance. When we put our life and health in the hands of a surgeon we want to make sure that he or she is competent. When we make a commitment to someone in marriage we want to make sure that he or she has the character and integrity to keep their promises of love and faithfulness. When we take medicine we want to make sure that it is going to help and not hurt us. When we invest money for our retirement we want to make sure that the investment is sound and will yield returns sufficient for our needs. We want to be sure on all these things and more, but how can we be sure?
If being sure of earthly matters is important to us, how much more important is being sure of spiritual matters? John the Baptist was privileged to be the forerunner of the Christ. He was faithful to a very difficult calling. He proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah and encouraged his own disciples to follow Jesus. Where did all this faithfulness take John? To prison. Arrested by the king and likely to be put to death, John was faced with a nagging question: How can I be sure that Jesus is the Messiah?
It's true that John had good reason to be sure that Jesus was whom John had proclaimed Him to be. Yet under the circumstances, John had some question and needed to be sure. We know what that is like. Just as John had God's Word on the matter of Jesus being the Christ, we have God's Word to assure us of His promises. We know that God is faithful and cannot lie. We are confident that even in the worst of our situations God is working good for us. We know God is good at all times and in all things, but how can we be sure of these things when our lives become turbulent and messy?
How God answers John is how He answers us. He turns our attention away from our ever changing expectations and circumstances back to the stability and certainty of His Word. In His Word we have the basis for an unchanging hope in the chaos of life in a fallen world. In His Word we have the assurance we need to be sure that God loves us, forgives us, and has made us His children.
