“that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ”

God strengthens or encourages our hearts by the Word. Our entire person, mind, emotion, and will need encouragement. This principle is the first of four lines of defense against an attack on our Christianity. 

may be encouraged

“Encouraged” means literally to call alongside. The thought is to call upon someone near at hand. Eventually, “encouraged” came to mean to call upon resources for help in time of need.

What are the resources to help in times of need for the Christian? Here someone comes alongside us to teach us what we need in times of difficulty. It is not the person who calls another alongside per see, but the truth that the person that brings does the encouraging. It is God’s truth that stabilizes us in difficulty. 

PRINCIPLE:

God’s truth stabilizes us in times of difficulty.

APPLICATION:

We mount a counterattack against the Devil’s sham or counterfeit ideas from the inculcation of the truth of God’s Word. When we call upon God’s truth or utilize His truth when things fall apart around us, we will experience God’s peace. We will demonstrate to a lost world that not only does Jesus Christ save us eternally, but he saves us during times of difficulty. That is entirely apart from personal resources. He sustains us by the Word of God. How much time have you spent behind this first line of defense?