SCHOOL-TIME

^[p. 310] SCHOOL-TIME

Faith comes before assurance, and assurance before the answer. The gentile woman (Matthew 15: 22) had faith in the Lord’s power, before He gave her any assurance as to His intentions of relieving her; and even when He gave this, she did not actually get the answer to her prayer until she returned to her daughter, and found her whole. Real faith is always increased by opposition, while false confidence is damaged and discouraged by it.

It is a different thing to have confidence in God as to His doing anything for me on the ground of relationship - of my being His child, and to get a distinct promise and assurance from Him.

In the latter case, there is always the sentence of death put on the promise before the answer is given. The time of trial and suspense, while faith is in exercise, is the time of school. School is more preparing the mind for knowledge, and getting it into training, than actually acquiring knowledge. So with the soul. In trial it is learning to learn, more than getting any conscious acquisition. That comes afterwards, as with the pupil who wishes to continue the cultivation of his mind after he escapes from the toil of the school-room. Then only does he become fully conscious of what he has gained. While toiling, he was conscious of little advance, but he now finds that his mind has got into working order, and all that seemed dull and meaningless to him, as learnt by rote, assumes a new meaning and use to him. To the schoolboy everything is new, and he is hardly conscious of acquisition; but afterwards he makes use of his knowledge, to reach the science of things, and to acquire more.

The soul in trial is in its school-time, and should not be discouraged in being unable to discover at once distinct acquisition in its knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, from day to day. That will come by-and-by,

^[p. 311] when the trial is over, which is but preparing it for the consciousness of blessing and increased knowledge of Christ, and in this process self must be learnt and exposed, which is always painful.

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5: 10).