Jesus Holds You Tight—Do You Need Assurance?

Jesus holds you tight, even when you don’t have the strength or the faith to hold onto Him. Even when depression, substance abuse, and bad choices make it impossible to see Him in the darkness.

Do you sometimes fear you have strayed too far and there is no way God will ever forgive you again? Don’t listen to that fear, my friend. If you have believed in Jesus, He will never let you go.

Jesus said to His disciples:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
(John 10:27–29 NIV) (emphasis added).

The Work God Requires: Believe

Often I think we Christians make faith and the saving grace of Jesus so complicated, when in reality it is quite simple. The only requirement is to believe.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
(John 6:28–29 NIV).

As soon as we think there is anything more that we must do, we are trusting in ourselves and not in Jesus. But that’s what makes it hard, isn’t it? We like to trust in ourselves because then we get the credit for what we have done right. If all we have to do is believe, then all the credit, all the glory, all the honor goes to Jesus.

Jesus Holds Believers Tight

Once you truly believe that you need Jesus, that He has atoned for your sins and that you need forgiveness, there’s no going back. There’s no chance that you will lose the salvation you have once gained. Jesus said to His disciples:

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
(John 6:39–40 NIV).

Jesus Held Me Tight When I First Believed

I was not raised in a religious household. The first time I remember going to church was when a friend invited me to go with her. I regularly attended Sunday school and services, Tuesday night Missionettes, and Wednesday night youth group with her for two years.

During that time, I learned about who Jesus was and I believed. When I believed, He secured my salvation by His atoning sacrifice.

Jesus Held Me Tight When I Fell Away

Then my parents moved us to another state. I didn’t have a friend to invite me to church, so I didn’t go. In spite of good intentions, I lost touch with my friend in my old home town.

During high school and into my early college years, I fell away from God. I didn’t think about Him, I didn’t go to church, and I did not live the way the Bible said I should. Not by a long shot.

My life was one party after another; one attempt to save myself after another.

I didn’t know it, but Jesus held me tight even then. I can look back at that time in my life and see how He was with me even when I didn’t see Him.

When I was ready to come back to Him, I discovered He had been there all along ready to forgive me for every sin.

On Your Worst Days

The Christian band MercyMe sings a song called “Wishful Thinking” that perfectly captures the concept of faith that won’t let go. My favorite line is “It’s never really been about what I do but what You did.”

When we humbly accept that we cannot earn salvation on our own, and believe that Jesus has earned it for us by His perfect sacrifice, God seals us by the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13). Nothing can remove that seal of heirship.

Even on your worst days, Jesus loves you and holds you tight. No one—not even you when you make a big mistake—can cause you to be snatched from His hand once you belong to Him.

When you feel broken and beyond repair, Jesus will seek you out. He is never far away, even when it feels like He is nowhere to be found.

Closing Prayer on Faith

Heavenly Father, I pray for each person reading this article, that they would trust in Your Son and that they would know their salvation is secure. For the one who has fallen away and fears You will never forgive them, bring peace and assurance of Your presence and grace. In Jesus’s holy name, amen.