April 17

Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You. — Ps 25:5 BSB

How do we usually come to embrace the truth as it is in Jesus? First, we often receive it as a doctrine. Our understanding becomes enlightened, and we see it in the word. For a while, this doctrine may just float in our minds. But as the Lord deepens our understanding of our own hearts and our needs, He lets the truth sink from our head into our heart, transforming it from doctrine into personal truth. It is a sweet experience when doctrine becomes truth.

But as time passes and we face trials and pressing circumstances, we need something more than just truth—we need that truth to be a blessing. When we are brought into difficulties, we need the doctrines we once understood as truth to be applied to our souls as a divine blessing. What we once knew in our minds as doctrine becomes truth in our conscience and is then applied to the deepest parts of our hearts as a blessing. In this way, we "find God’s word and eat it" to the joy and rejoicing of our souls.

This is the same with Christ’s ascension. First, we receive it as doctrine—a vital part of the salvation story. But as we grow, we see the wonder of having a Mediator at God’s right hand, an Intercessor pleading for us with the power of His atoning blood and righteousness. This draws out our faith, hope, and love for this ascended and interceding Mediator. And as the Holy Spirit reveals the power of this glorious Mediator to our guilty consciences, the truth becomes a rich and comforting blessing.

Thus, far from casting aside the doctrines of grace, our experiences lead us into a deeper, vital understanding of them. Just as we cannot live without the bones in our body, we cannot bless our souls by discarding the doctrines of grace. In fact, we daily feel a deeper need for these doctrines to be brought into our hearts by God’s power. They become the stay and support of our souls, just as our bones support our arms when raised.