The great desire of God is that we should understand every act and leading of His grace toward us. Human parents do much for their children without ever making known to them their intent and pleasure, and therefore much of the lives of the children is spent in misunderstanding the parental treatment, and endeavoring to escape from it instead of cooperating with it. Very different is the way of our God and Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessing. I believe, whether it be place, gift, or anything else, is often postponed and delayed until we are intelligent enough to see its value. The Lord unfolds to His servant the gift according as he attains the ability to comprehend it; and God acknowledges the exercise of it and gives scope for it according as the servant has intelligence or subjection to follow simply with His mind therein. In order to "think so as to be wise, as God has dealt to each a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:33For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3); J.N.D. Trans.), a man must know the measure; and therefore if he is skillful "in the word of righteousness," he is grown up and able to discern between good and evil. If I am able to discern, I understand God's dealing with me, and get the blessing of it; and if not, 1 am only a babe, and "unskillful in the word of righteousness." I have need of milk; solid food is unfit for me. (See Heb. 5:12, 1312For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. (Hebrews 5:12‑13).) I am alive, but I have no sense or intelligence of God's ways with me.
Now a want of this sense must debar me from the communication of God's mind and purposes. You would not talk to a babe about its inheritance; you would only speak and open your mind to it according as it gained intelligence to understand. This, I believe, God does in a special manner—not only with regard to blessings but, in the same way, though in a lesser degree, in chastening. I do not say that He does not chasten unless we understand the good of it, or that we always do understand it; on the contrary, I believe He often chastens to vindicate His own care when. His child does not notice it at all; but what I say is that unless we are exercised thereby, no good comes of it, and no soul who knows His love will be satisfied to let His chastening pass by without understanding it. If an earthly friend indicates any coolness or distance toward me, do I not, in proportion as I love such a one, seek explanation of it? And just so with regard to the love of Christ; in proportion as we value it, shall we seek for an explanation of any marked visitation from Him to us. This is the way of God with us in either chastening or blessing, but we see it more plainly and markedly in blessing. It is "to him that hath" that "more shall be given." The man who had made most received in preference to any who had made less. God, I repeat, unfolds according as we are prepared for it; and hence circumstances are constantly used to prepare us for a due appreciation of His blessings.
Paul in the prison at Rome, and John at Patmos, went through circumstances prepared, the one to reveal the heavenly glory as from heaven, and the other to reveal the Lord's glory on earth. When Jonah lost his gourd, he was able to understand God's feelings; and when thus prepared to hear them, they were imparted to him. God wants us to know the way whereby we go, and to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. I do not believe that any soul, no matter how great its acquisition of knowledge from the Scriptures, has really got on beyond its intelligence of God's ways with itself; so that it is in proportion as I understand God's ways with myself that I have been taught of Him. If I understand His ways with me only in the wilderness, then. I am in the wilderness; that is to say, the wilderness is the measure of my attainment and advance. If in heaven, then I am in the same sense in heaven, and so on.
I dare say some of us have observed very often how some spiritual desire like a flash of light has engaged the soul; but though the enjoyment of it be remembered, we find that we have not reached it practically; and the reason for this is, that we are not prepared for it. I have no doubt that the grapes of Eshcol are often tasted by us when we have a great deal of exercise to go through, and intelligence to acquire, before we reach Eshcol. Caleb, after tasting the grapes, needed forty years of preparation ere he was in actual possession of Eshcol; and surely his heart must then have acknowledged God's gracious way with him. And when he was in full possession—when he comprehended the nature, order, and value of the blessing he had so long before tasted of—he could then sing "with understanding."
It is when we reach Eshcol that we see how necessary it has been for us to go through so much exercise and toil of spirit; for there it is that we comprehend the excellence of the blessing, and are in it too. To be in the place of blessing, you must not only prize the blessing, but you must also feel that you are suited to the place, and, as a necessary consequence, separated from what is unsuited to it. It is not all in a -moment that we see how our idolatry stands in the way as a harrier to our reaching the place or the possession of the grapes, the taste and excellence of which we feel we appreciate. And chastening may often fall on us in order to remove the obstacle and prepare us.
There can be no basket of first fruits (see Deut. 26) unless we understand our blessings and possess them. Hence the prayer that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, that we "being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height," etc. Eph. 3:17, 1817That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (Ephesians 3:17‑18). The Lord give us to understand the nature, order, and value of His blessings, that we may be prepared to enjoy them suitably!
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