The beloved hymn Blessed Assurance was written by Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915) in 1873 and is still relevant today. Fanny lost her sight in infancy because of incorrect treatment for an eye condition. But that didn’t stop Fanny. In that trial, her family continued to care for Fanny uniquely by teaching her scripture, which she memorized even as a child.

That training must have grown a love for God in Fanny’s heart that is clearly reflected in her many hymns. Fanny wrote so many hymns (over 9,000) that her publisher created numerous pen names so that her name wouldn’t be the only one in the hymnal (Christianity Today).

I think it’s safe to say that Fanny knew God loved her and loved Him in return. As a result, Fanny was secure in her identity as a beloved child of God. She didn’t view her blindness as a hindrance to sharing God’s love with others, which she freely did through her hymns. And her confidence in God is evident in the Blesses Assurance lyrics.

Blesses Assurance (1873)

Lyrics- Fanny Jane Crosby, Music- Phoebe Palmer Knapp

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

You are chosen (John 15:16). Also a coheir with Christ (Romans 8:17). You were purchased and cleansed by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:7). And the Holy Spirit is living inside of you (John 14:17).

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
 Praising my Savior all the day long.

Make praising God for His goodness part of your story (Psalm 69:30, and so many more). Why not make it your song today? Know that, in doing so, God will bring you closer and reveal His love toward you.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Jesus was the perfect example of perfect submission in His obedience to the Father, “not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42). Know that you are loved (John 3:16).

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Because of His obedience, we are blessed by God’s grace, something we don’t deserve but have in Christ. Despite our sins, believers are forgiven and will live for eternity in heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9).

In Christ, we have peace, rest (John 14:27), hope (Jerimiah 29:11, Romans 15:13), and through the Holy Spirit, we are filled with his goodness (Romans 5:5). Not only that, we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Believe me, I know it takes some time to wrap your head around these beautiful truths but give it a try. And now that you’ve got the addresses you can look up the verses I’ve noted above, or just hover the cursor over the verse and it should appear on the screen. Then take some time to read and pray on them. If any resonate with you, leap off the page, or give you a warm feeling down deep inside, then spend more time with those verses. For me, it usually means God has something to say, and I need to listen.

Draw closer to Jesus as you read and meditate on the verse in this post. Then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth about who you are.  Finally, make a list of words you want to see in your identity statement. And why not consider starting a journal to capture what God is illuminating for you, at least while we go through the process of writing your identity statement together.

Pray and let God lead the way.

**If you don’t have a bible, you can quickly and easily find the verses noted above online by going to biblegateway.com, biblehub.com, blueletterbible.org, and these are just a few.**

Read more about Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915) here:  https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/fanny-crosby.html

Updated on May 17, 2021: This post is the third installment of the Identity in Christ Series, originally written for the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge (2018), hosted by Anita Ojeda.