November 23

Morning

If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. — 1 John 1:6 BSB

When we were united to Christ through faith, we entered into such a deep and complete fellowship with Him that our interests became one. His concerns are now our concerns, and our lives are bound up with His.

We have fellowship with Christ in His love. What He loves, we love. He loves His people, and so do we. He loves sinners, and so do we. He yearns to see this broken world transformed into the garden of the Lord, and we share that same longing.

We have fellowship with Him in His desires. He desires the glory of God, and we labor for the same. He longs to have His people with Him where He is, and we too desire to be with Him there. He seeks to drive out sin, and we fight under His banner. He desires that His Father’s name be loved and honored by all His creatures, and we daily pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We also share fellowship with Him in His sufferings. Though we are not nailed to a cross or called to die a brutal death, we are reproached when He is reproached. It is a sweet thing to bear shame for His name, to be despised for following the Master, and to face the world’s hostility. The disciple is not above his Lord.

In our own small way, we commune with Him in His labor, ministering to others through the Word of truth and deeds of love. Our food and drink, like His, is to do the will of the Father and finish the work He has given us.

We also share in Christ’s joys. We rejoice in His joy and celebrate His exaltation. Have you tasted this joy, dear believer? There is no purer or more thrilling delight this side of heaven than having Christ’s joy fulfilled in us, that our joy may be complete. His glory awaits us to make our fellowship with Him perfect, for His bride—the Church—will sit with Him upon His throne, as His beloved queen!

Evening

Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” — Isa 40:9 BSB

Every believer should thirst for God, for the living God, and yearn to ascend the hill of the Lord to see Him face to face. We should not be content to dwell in the mists of the valley when the summit of glory awaits us. My soul longs to drink deeply from the cup reserved for those who climb to the mountain’s peak, bathing their foreheads in the pure atmosphere of heaven. How refreshing are the dews of the heights, how invigorating the mountain air, and how rich the nourishment for those who live on high, whose windows open to the New Jerusalem!

Yet, too many saints are content to live like those in dark mines who never see the sun; they eat dust like the serpent when they could be feasting on the bread of angels. They are satisfied to wear the rags of a miner when they could be dressed in the robes of royalty. Tears stain their faces when they could be anointed with the oil of gladness. Many believers languish in dungeons when they could be walking on palace rooftops, gazing at the good land and Lebanon.

Awaken yourself, O believer, from such a lowly condition! Cast aside your sluggishness, your apathy, your coldness—anything that interferes with your pure and devoted love for Christ, your soul’s Husband. Let Him be the source, the center, and the circumference of all your joy.

What foolishness keeps you in a pit when you could be sitting on a throne? Do not remain in the lowlands of bondage when you have been given the liberty of the mountains. No longer be content with your meager attainments but strive for greater heights and a fuller life. Look upward to heaven! Draw nearer to God!