July 27

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. — Acts 16:5 BSB

What an indescribable blessing it is for someone to know the truth by divine teaching and testimony. To have the truth applied to the heart by the gracious influence and power of heaven allows us to know what salvation is, where it comes from, and, most importantly, to have the sweet assurance that this salvation has touched our own hearts. When trouble strikes, when sorrow and affliction enter our lives, or when illness shakes our physical bodies, we will know where to go for comfort. We will not be strangers to the throne of grace or to the sweetness of the covenant, ordered in all things and made sure.

From the fullness of Christ, we will be given grace and strength to support us in times of trial. It is through these gracious dealings with our souls that we become “established in the faith.” In fact, the very storms we pass through will strengthen our grip on Christ and deepen our faith in him. In these trials, we learn more about our own weakness and Christ’s strength, our own misery and his mercy, our own sinfulness and his super-abounding grace, our own poverty and his riches, our own deserving of hell and his promise of heaven. In this way, we become “established in faith,” as the same blessed Spirit who began the work in us continues it, engraving the image of Christ ever deeper upon our hearts and teaching us more and more of the truth as it is in Jesus.