“Then welcome each rebuff
That turns earth’s smoothness rough,
Each sting that bids nor sit nor stand but go!
Be our joys three-part pain!
Strive, and hold cheap the strain;
Learn, nor account the pang; dare, never
Grudge the throe!"
Robert Browning.
We are by nature creatures of sense. The natural man thus limits his findings of truth to such matters as can be appreciated only through sense perception. He must see, feel, hear, etc., before he will believe, thus closing the door to the realm of the spirit, where faith moves, discovering truths of higher, spiritual value. The faculties which operate in the realm of the natural are God-given and are intended to function for the comfort of man in the realm of his nature and the physical world. But these absolutely fail when he tries to use them to discern God or His spiritual relations and manifestations.
God has provided faith for this purpose, that through its exercise we may enter into a new realm where there are spiritual verities and spiritual laws operative. The life of the Christian is supernatural — that is, above the natural. It is neither entered nor lived by natural means. The process of weaning man from the limitations of the human and introducing him to the life of the spirit and faith is extremely trying to the flesh. There must be this necessary process of adjustment if we truly live the spiritual life and fully enter into the possibilities of development that God has provided for us.
Let us welcome each stroke which sets us free, and like bold adventurers in faith let us discover and possess the rich prospects in God.