​I am greatly indebted to my loyal encourager Brian Fleming for forwarding this link to me earlier in the week:

​If you are struggling to find that place of Full Assurance In Trusting HIM, I recommend you follow the above link and soak in this powerful worship, adoration and declaration. It may just be the stepping stone you need to move you closer to  Full Assurance In Trusting HIM.

I have been pondering over the past couple of weeks the deep reality that faith is a journey not a destination.

Abraham, who we acknowledge to be the so called father of faith, demonstrates this truth more so than anyone else in Scripture. Many decades after Abraham was "called to go out" he was still grappling with the enormity of what  Full Assurance In Trusting HIM meant in practical daily living.

In my own journey of Full Assurance In Trusting HIM, I have come to realise that one of the greatest barriers to entering into the fullness of this Faith is my habit of focusing on the circumstances rather than focusing on HIM.

As a family we find ourselves in the midst of some of the most difficult circumstances we have thus far encountered. My daily challenge has been to tear my eyes away from the circumstances and to enter into that place of Full Assurance In Trusting HIM.

​Like Abraham, my hearts desire is to remain committed to the journey.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Daniel 3:23

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of the burning fiery furnace of life circumstances?

The last 10 days have felt like that for me and my family.

It begs the question: Can we be blessed (Son covered) under such circumstances?

​The account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego delivers a resounding yes to that question.

My prayer is that you will be Son covered today in the midst of your life circumstances.

​

You will recall that the ark was lined inside and out with a substance called pitch.

No doubt you are thinking: "What on earth has pitch got to do with Noah being blessed?"

Well, it just so happens that in Hebrew the word pitch is derived from the same root word as atonement.

Consequently, we discover that the ark was lined inside and out with a symbol of atonement and in Scripture the most powerful picture of atonement is found in the blood and more specifically the blood of Yeshua.

"But", you say, "that still doesn't explain what pitch has to do with Noah being blessed".

Okay then, let us look at the word blessed in Hebrew.

The word picture meaning for blessed is: "the son covered".

Noah, whose name means "life protected" together with his family, experienced what it means to be "son covered" when they entered into the ark. When they entered into the ark they entered into the covering of the atoning blood of the Son.

To be Son covered is to live inside the protection of the atoning blood of God's grace!!! 

Psalm 18:35
You have also given me the shield (defence, cover, surround) of Your salvation (Yeshua);
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great. ​

In our initial look at the above verse we discovered that in Hebrew the word shield and garden are derived from the same root word.

We also discovered that the fence or shield that protects the garden is Yeshua our Saviour.

We can add another word to this picture and that is the word grace.

You may recall that the Hebrew word picture for grace is: a fence that protects life.

The first occurrence of the word grace in Scripture is in reference to Noah the builder of the ark.

Of course, the ark was actually a very large fence (shield) protecting all the life left on planet earth after the flood.

We are told that the ark was to be lined inside and out with pitch.

Now it just so happens that pitch shares the same root as the word atonement.

So, let us put all this together. 

The ark is a picture of life shielded/protected by a symbol of atoning blood.

The source of that atoning blood is Yeshua our Salvation.