August 4

Morning

With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. — Dan 11:32 BSB

Every believer understands that knowing God is the highest and best form of knowledge, and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the Christian.

Knowledge strengthens faith. Believers are often described in Scripture as people who are enlightened and taught by the Lord. They have an anointing from the Holy One, and the Spirit’s special work is to lead them into all truth, increasing and nurturing their faith.

Knowledge also strengthens love. It opens the door to see our Savior. To use another image, knowledge paints a picture of Jesus, and when we see that picture, we love Him. We can’t love Christ if we don’t know Him to some extent. If we know little of His goodness and grace, we can’t love Him much. But the more we know Him, the more our love for Him will grow.

Knowledge also strengthens hope. How can we hope for something if we don’t know it exists? Hope is like a telescope, but ignorance clouds the lens, and we can’t see a thing. Knowledge clears away that obstacle so we can look through the telescope and glimpse the glory to come, filling us with joyful anticipation.

Knowledge also gives us patience. How can we be patient if we don’t know Christ’s sympathy for us or understand the good He’s bringing from our struggles?

Every Christian grace, under God’s influence, is nurtured and perfected through holy knowledge. How important, then, that we grow not only in grace but also in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Evening

I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD. — Hag 2:17 BSB

Hail is destructive to standing crops, pounding the grain to the ground. How grateful we should be when the harvest is spared such devastation! Let us offer thanks to the Lord.

Even worse are the mysterious blight and mildew, which turn crops into soot, rot, or dry them out entirely. When this happens, farmers often cry, “This is the hand of God!” These tiny fungi, beyond human control, can cause so much damage. Were it not for God’s mercy, famine would soon spread across the land. His goodness keeps the destroyers at bay, and this should drive us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” for we are always in need of His provision.

When blight and mildew come, they are often sent as chastisements from God, calling us to listen and respond to His correction.

Spiritually, mildew is a common enemy. Just when our work seems most promising, it can appear. We may hope for many conversions, only to see apathy, worldliness, or hardness of heart take over. There may not be any blatant sin in those we labor for, but a lack of sincerity and commitment can be deeply discouraging.

This teaches us how dependent we are on the Lord and how much we need to pray that no spiritual blight or mildew will affect our work. Pride or laziness can bring such a disaster upon us, and only the Lord of the harvest can remove it. Mildew may even creep into our own hearts, shriveling our prayers and spiritual devotion. May the great Gardener spare us from such calamity. Shine, blessed Sun of Righteousness, and drive the blights away!