December 14

Morning

They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion. — Ps 84:7 BSB

There are various interpretations of this verse, but they all suggest the idea of progress: “They go from strength to strength.” In other words, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, when we walk, we go from strength to weakness. We start our journey feeling fresh and energized, but as the road gets rough and the sun beats down, we become weary, and soon we need to rest by the wayside before continuing, painfully, on our way. But the Christian pilgrim, receiving new supplies of grace, remains as vigorous after years of struggle as when he first began. He may not be as excited or impulsive as he once was, but he is far stronger in the qualities that matter most. He may travel more slowly, but he journeys more surely.

Some gray-haired veterans of the faith remain just as firm in their grip on truth and as zealous in sharing it as they were in their younger days. Sadly, this is not always the case. Many believers grow cold in their love as sin abounds, but this is their own fault, not a failure of God’s promise. The promise still stands: “Young men may grow faint and weary, and youths may stumble and fall, but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”

Anxious spirits often sit down and worry about the future, saying, “We go from one trouble to the next.” That’s true, you of little faith, but you also go from strength to strength. You will never face a bundle of afflictions that doesn’t have within it a bundle of grace to match. God gives the strength of maturity to those who carry the burdens meant for grown shoulders.

Evening

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. — Gal 2:20 BSB

The Lord Jesus Christ acted as a great public representative when He died on the cross. His death was the death of all His people. He satisfied divine justice and made atonement for all their sins. The apostle Paul delighted in the thought that as one of Christ’s chosen, he had died with Christ on the cross. He didn’t just believe this doctrinally; he embraced it with confidence, resting his hope in it. Paul believed that through Christ’s death, he had satisfied God’s justice and found reconciliation with Him.

What a blessing it is when the soul can, so to speak, stretch itself out upon the cross of Christ and say, “I am dead; the law has condemned me, and I am free from its power because in my Savior I have borne the curse. In the person of my Substitute, the full weight of the law’s condemnation has been executed upon me, for I have been crucified with Christ.”

But Paul meant even more than this. He didn’t just believe in Christ’s death and trust in it; he also felt its power within himself, causing his old sinful nature to be crucified. When he looked at the pleasures of sin, he said, “I cannot enjoy these—I am dead to them.” This is the experience of every true Christian. Having received Christ, we are dead to this world.

Yet, even while we are conscious of death to the world, we can say with Paul, “Nevertheless, I live.” We are fully alive to God. The Christian’s life is a mystery—no worldly person can understand it. Even we, as believers, find it difficult to comprehend: Dead, yet alive! Crucified with Christ, yet raised with Him in newness of life! Union with our suffering, crucified Savior and death to the world and sin are profound, soul-cheering truths. Oh, to experience them more deeply!