Blessed Assurance
by John Berry
We have recently been engaged in the process of selling a house. As part of the conveyancing work that the solicitors were carrying out on behalf of the purchaser, they raised a question about planning permission. The outcome was that the purchaser’s mortgage lender required an indemnity (insurance) from us in case anything were to go wrong in the future. Our purchaser was not worried about it, we were confident there wouldn’t be a problem, but the solicitors were insistent. They were trying to prevent anything happening in the future which would be a problem for our purchaser’s financiers.
Whilst the motive was possibly good, I felt that there was a lot of fear involved on the part of the mortgage people and the solicitors. It just highlighted to me how much fear there is around in our world today. Financial institutions are fearful of anything ‘risky’, legal people are fearful of being found to have made a mistake, and the business world is afraid that things might get worse and they will lose everything. Even in everyday life there is apprehension rather than optimism about the future.
What a contrast with Jesus’ words to us: ‘Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes’ (Matthew 6:34, The Message.
There are always unknowns in life, but when we trust God we do not need to be anxious about them. Facing each day as it comes actually releases us from fear and brings peace. Of course we are to be responsible people in the way we conduct ourselves, but not fearful, living in the ‘what ifs’. Instead of needing insurance against possible difficulties, we have assurance in the name of Jesus that if we are part of his Kingdom, walking in righteousness, obedience and love, then God will be there for us in every circumstance of life.
John Berry entered the Baptist Ministry more than 40 years ago, and joined the Team at Ellel Glyndley Manor in 2007 with his wife Jennie. They have both now retired from the team but remain as part of the Teaching and Associate Ministry Teams at Glyndley. John and Jennie have seven Grandchildren.
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