Blessed Assurance
- Gary Fritsch
- Sep 9, 2025
- 3 min read
In today's world of professional athletes, we often talk about those who have 'swagger'. It is an overwhelming self-confidence, often in our eyes and overstated self-confidence. But there are times, in our human experience where we feel as though we can not lose. For me, that's playing a sport against a 5 year-old. Any older than that and things can be questionable. Today, Jesus encourages us to have a sort of 'holy swagger' a supreme confidence that is not dependent on something as fragile and temporary as our own abilities.
What I am about to tell you is nothing less than the secret to a peaceful life. God wins. God, the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, all-capable creator of the universe did not create it in order to lose it. He has a plan, and if we have expressed our desire to be part of His plan, we will eventually see His complete victory unfold. It is like playing a game of poker and as everyone is bidding and raising and some folding, you are calmly looking down on your royal flush. Nothing anyone says or does to try to convince you that their hand is better will be effective. You know who will win. (OK I guess technically you could 'tie', but let's not ruin the metaphor).
This is not just and understanding that we will somehow come out on top at the end, bruised and battered by all of the difficulty that we experience in the meantime, but that each and every difficulty now will be turned into greater glory then - if we let Him do it. Jesus says "Rejoice and leap on that day" 'that day' being the day that you are excluded and insulted. That, my friends is 'holy swagger' or what we call more appropriately 'blessed assurance'. This assurance is not based on anything human that we might be able to do, but based on the sacrifice that Jesus has already made that is part of the plan of God that will bring us to heaven forever - if we let it.
As a fan of superhero movies (Captain America being my favorite, because he actually still has morals) I know that part of what draws us to these stories is that deep down, we know the hero will be victorious. It allows us to endure the parts of the movie where things seem dour, the chances impossible, the bad guy looks like he will win - and perhaps even revel in these parts because we can't wait to see how the hero will pull this on out.
Jesus is telling us our whole life should be like that. When we encounter trouble or difficulty, it is either inconsequential in the grand scheme, or we know that God will do something with it or overcome it. We might have to wait until the next life to see it, but we know it will happen. I sometimes whisper the phrase 'I can't wait to see what you do with this, Lord' to remind myself that God has this, that He is in control. So have some holy swagger. Not a self-confidence - that would be misplaced - but a confidence in Him and His love for you - He has already proved it.
Comments