April 28

Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. — Heb 6:18 BSB

It is utterly impossible for God to lie. The earth could dissolve, and all creation be reduced to chaos before God could lie. He would cease to be God if even the faintest breath of change or the shadow of a turn passed over His glorious being. But it is impossible for God to lie, and this truth offers strong consolation to those who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them.

What is the ground of this strong consolation? It lies in the fact that God has eternally determined and sworn by Himself that He will save and bless those who have “fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel.” This is the foundation of their consolation and the ground of their hope: that God has made promises and confirmed them by His solemn oath. Those who flee for refuge and lay hold upon this hope have a saving interest in these promises and the assurance of being “heirs of promise.”

Have you ever felt spiritual consolation? If you have, it was because you laid hold of the hope set before you in the gospel. No true consolation ever comes from looking at our fallen selves. Any genuine comfort, any raised hope, any solid peace comes from living faith that embraces the blood and righteousness of Christ, tastes His preciousness, sees His glory and beauty, and melts the heart in worship at His footstool. Consolation comes not from looking at ourselves but from receiving as empty sinners from His fullness. It comes not from trusting ourselves but from going to Jesus and receiving something into our hearts from Him. The more we feel this, the more we experience “strong consolation.”