When Assurance Wavers: Faith, Desertion, and the Spirit’s Preserving Support (WLC 81)

The Westminster Larger Catechism is pastorally honest about a common Christian experience: real faith does not always come packaged with the feeling of assurance. Some of the Lord’s truest saints walk through long seasons where salvation feels distant, prayers feel unanswered, and their own hearts feel unreliable. The catechism asks, “Are all true believers at all times assured of their present being in the estate of grace, and that they shall be saved?” And it answers: “Assurance of grace and salvation not being of the essence of faith, true believers may wait long before they obtain it; and, after the enjoyment thereof, may have it weakened and intermitted, through manifold distempers, sins, temptations, and desertions; yet are they never left without such a presence and support of the Spirit of God, as keeps them from sinking into utter despair.” In other words, assurance can be delayed, diminished, and interrupted—but the Spirit’s never abandon Christ’s people.

Assurance Is a Gift, Not the Essence of Faith

The catechism’s first clarifying line is crucial: assurance is not the “essence of faith.” Faith’s essence is not “I feel saved,” but I rest in Christ—His person, His promises, His finished work. A weak and fearful hand can still take hold of a strong Savior. This matters because many believers are tormented by a false equation: if I were truly converted, I should always feel certain. Yet Scripture distinguishes between the reality of belonging to God and the believer’s present sense of that reality. The sealing of the Spirit in Ephesians is objective and covenantal—God marking His own—yet believers still battle fear and darkness. "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Eph. 1:13). The seal is not a mood; it is God’s promise and pledge.

Why Assurance Can Be Delayed

The catechism says true believers “may wait long before they obtain it.” That single sentence is a lifeline for tender consciences. Some come to assurance quickly; others come slowly, like dawn creeping over a dark horizon. Often the Lord is teaching us to seek Him for Himself, not merely for the relief of certainty, and strengthening spiritual muscles that can only be built by long obedience and repeated prayer. Psalm 77 records a believer who cries out in the night, remembers God’s wonders, and wrestles to regain hope (Ps. 77:1–12). Psalm 88 is even starker—an extended lament that ends in darkness (Ps. 88:1–18). Yet the very fact that these prayers are in the Bible tells you something: God does not despise His saints when they can only groan. If you are waiting long for assurance, do not confuse delay with denial; the Lord may be doing deep work that will later make assurance sturdier, humbler, and more worshipful.

How Assurance Is Weakened and Interrupted

The catechism also lists pressures that can “weaken and intermit” assurance, and naming them to help us avoid needless confusion. “Manifold distempers” includes the whole range of bodily and emotional weakness—fatigue, sadness, anxiety, grief—and when we are frail, assurance is often harder to feel. Sins can also wound assurance, not because Christ’s grace has changed, but because communion is clouded; David’s repentance shows the difference between losing salvation and losing the joy of salvation when he pleads, “Let me hear joy and gladness,” and, “restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Ps. 51:8, 12).

Temptations can further unsettle the soul, not only by luring us toward sin, but by accusing us and arguing that struggle proves we are not God’s—yet Job’s cry shows what faith looks like when it can only cling: “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). Finally, “desertions” describe seasons when God’s fatherly presence feels withdrawn; Scripture does not pretend those seasons aren’t real, giving us words like, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1) and, “I am cut off from your sight” (Ps. 31:22). Song of Songs also paints a picture of interrupted fellowship and renewed longing (Song 5:2–3, 6). Feeling deserted is not the same as being deserted, but it is a real trial, and God’s people should not be shamed for naming it.

Never Left to Utter Despair

The answer’s final line is the anchor: believers may lose assurance for a time, yet they are never left without the Spirit’s presence and support that keeps them from sinking into despair. Psalm 73 captures this paradox: the psalmist nearly stumbles, fears he has spoken wrongly, yet testifies, “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand” (Ps. 73:15, 23). The comfort is not first that we hold God, but that God holds us. Isaiah says it with covenant thunder: God may hide His face “for a brief moment,” but with everlasting love He will have compassion; His steadfast love will not depart, and His covenant of peace will not be removed (Isa. 54:7–10). The believer’s assurance may ebb and flow, but God’s covenant love does not, and the Spirit’s preserving grip often shows itself in small mercies—continuing to pray when prayer feels heavy, continuing to gather with the saints when the heart feels numb, continuing to refuse despair even when reasons feel scarce.

When Assurance Is Thin

When assurance is thin, the path forward is not to pretend but to return to the ordinary places where God strengthens His people. Look away from yourself and back to Christ, because assurance grows best in the soil of the gospel rather than the swamp of endless self-analysis. Confess known sin quickly and plainly, because hidden darkness always breeds spiritual fog. Then keep close to the means of grace—Scripture, prayer, the Lord’s Day, and the fellowship of the church—not as instant fixes, but as God’s appointed instruments over time. When words fail, borrow the language of Scripture itself, praying Psalms like 77, 51, and even 22, because God has already given you vocabulary for the valley. And as you do, keep distinguishing between faith and feelings: feelings are real, but they are not final, while faith clings to God’s promise even with trembling hands.

A Closing Word

Scripture and the catechism give you permission to be honest without being hopeless. It tells you that assurance can be delayed and interrupted—and that this does not cancel the reality of grace. The Christian with trembling assurance is not a contradiction; he is often a portrait of what faith looks like in a fallen world. If you belong to Christ, you may at times say, “I have no light,” and even, “I feel cast off,” but you will not be cast off. The Spirit who sealed you will sustain you (Eph. 1:13). The God who covenanted peace will not revoke it (Isa. 54:7–10). And even when assurance is weak, the Savior you trust is not. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

Soli Deo Gloria