July 23

Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, so we may return; renew our days as of old, — Lam 5:21 BSB

If we do not want to deceive ourselves and if God has made us honest—planting his fear in our hearts and beginning a good work in us—there will be clear signs of the life of God within us. Life is the start of salvation as an inward reality, for no matter what God’s eternal purposes may be, or what standing the vessel of mercy may have in Christ before effectual calling, there is no movement in the soul toward God until life is imparted. Just as a corpse in the graveyard has no life or motion, so a soul remains lifeless until quickened by God.

But wherever divine life is implanted, certain fruits and feelings naturally arise. One such fruit is complaint, which may come from the burden of sin or from a sense of merited chastisement from God because of it. However, when this complaint is spiritual, it is accompanied by “accepting the punishment of our iniquity” and “putting our mouth in the dust.” Thus, spiritual life produces complaint, confession, and submission, leading to meekness, brokenness, and humility.

This humbles our pride and breaks apart self-justification, resulting in an honest search of our hearts to see whether we are truly walking with God. Most often, this search will reveal, at least in part, the painful conviction that much of what we have done has been in the flesh. Or it will create deep anxiety that cannot be relieved except by a direct testimony from the Lord. This leads to a cry from the soul: “Let us turn again to the Lord,” and the heart turns to God as the only source of all good and perfect gifts. Knowing that God searches the heart, this appeal purifies hypocrisy and deepens sincerity and godly integrity. The blessed result of all this refining work is that gracious answers come from God—divine testimonies, the smile of the Savior’s loving countenance, soft whispers of God’s eternal favor, and the sweet witness of the Spirit within.