"Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.' "
Observe (above) how good God is to His church. First of all, He redeems her. But the Lord goes further: He also teaches her (even how to "profit"). On top of that, our Father shows us the way--so that we do not have to try to figure it all out on our own.
These are all things that God does for His church, even when we do not *feel* like they are being done. Sometimes we wonder if we are lost--when in fact, if we are in Christ--we are quite *found*. Do not be discouraged, if you are a faithful churchman, you are in better shape than you feel like you are.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Justifying faith is that by which the soul, which before was separated and alienated from Christ, unites itself to Him . . . " --Jonathan Edwards, in "Justification by Faith Alone"]
