Hebrews 11:1 English Standard Version (ESV) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Assurance is not insurance.

With insurance we shop around for a carrier who offers the best coverage at a price we can afford. What is being covered is discussed and agreed upon. It might be a car, a boat, a house, or a bundle. But those don’t cover whole life which is a different policy.

If you want to leave your survivors debt free you will buy a million dollar policy and the premiums are steep. Not only steep but you have to qualify by taking a physical and if you don’t pass you will not be coveted. Then you are left with the option of a burial policy which will only offset  some funeral costs. $10,000 coverage does buy much these days, and if you die too soon after buying that policy you wont get full coverage.

Then there are the terms and conditions. Everything has limited liability because they are in it to take advantage of us. Flood insurance isn’t included.

Assurance of faith is different because Christ paid the price and full coverage is guaranteed instantly without terms and conditions. We are assured a place after death that is whole life, eternal life, absent of any penalty clauses. That life begins instantly.

Assurance of faith is based on God’s promises. They are His plan for us and the good news is that we are covered regardless of our condition. It would seem the worse the better. No one else but God would cover us, or could cover us, with these guarantees.

Here is the best part, we don’t have to wait for a disaster to reap the promises of assurance of faith, it starts paying off on those promises immediately without any limits.

And He covers floods at no extra cost.

So do you want insurance or assurance?

Romans 12:12 English Standard Version (ESV) Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Do you find it difficult to pray in the midst of turmoil?

Paul ties three very different things together as if there is a binding agent that allows us to experience them all at the same time. Call it what you may, but for me it is faith.

I can rejoice when I have not seen the promises of God come into being because of what I have seen God do already in my life. Nothing makes us rest assured in promises to come as much as having some of them been real in this relationship. Faith is an active agent of hope.

Tribulations come in many forms and we all experience it in some form. The first usage of the word is the Hebrew word sar. Its first usage means narrow or tight. That is the direct opposite of having options. Hopelessness often accompanies tribulations. While the situation tries to steal our hope, faith reminds us that our hope is in God, not our situation. This too shall pass.

Have we ever tried to be constant in prayer? If we think of prayer as words uttered then we will discover ourselves without words sooner than later. Luke reminds us in Acts 16:13 that prayer can be seen as a place not unlike Jesus advising us to enter our prayer closet. Faith allows us to be mindful of His abiding presence and that He will never leave us nor forsake us, no matter what the circumstances.

The God of peace has already settled every issue to His satisfaction. Faith allows us to accept His will, knowing that everything works together by faith towards our good.

Romans 8:26-28 English Standard Version

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.