In Matthew 15, Jewish leaders blasphemed the Holy Spirit by saying Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebub. In Matthew 16, Jesus started speaking in parables, so that only those with revelation from the Father would be able to understand him. The same is true in Mark 3 and 4.

Someone told me this early in my Christian life. It helps us understand the purpose of the parables and even how God wants us as Christians to learn. Our human confidence in knowledge leads to division, but there is a wisdom that descends from above, and it is “first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

Trusting our Father the way Jesus did can be hard without constant reminders. Jesus “kept committing himself to the one who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). You can be mistreated with peace when your insides are full of the truth that God always makes all things right eventually.

When Simon became Peter, the Rock, the first of the living stones that God is building his temple with, it was because the Father revealed to him that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God (Matt. 16:16-18). Jesus knew that our Father loves all his children, and he will reveal the truths that we need in order to live, even if they are brought to us in parables.

Over the years, in application to myself, I have learned that revivals and greatly-used men of God trusted God the way Jesus did. They knew their teaching could never be empowered by their own fleshly charisma, so they gave God a lot of prayer and a lot of faith.

I don’t claim to always live up to that standard because I would be lying if I said I did. When I do, though, it stops me from being in stupid arguments. We only see because God gives us light. We must be patient and correct with gentleness, because it is only God who can give repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:26).

We have a saying about beating a dead horse, as though we expect a dead horse to get up and give us a ride. Often, we are beating a blind and deaf person with our words as though we expect them to see or hear because of our frustration and volume, when in fact only God can open deaf ears and blind eyes.

When patience has its perfect work, you will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4). Patience is not a human strong suit; neither is trust.