Proverbs 4:5 “Get wisdom! Get understanding!”, and again in 7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
The Lord calls us in the beginning and in the end to get from Him understanding. In all our amazing technological advances in medicine and science, i would suggest we, as general mankind, actually understand very little of the Everlasting, Glorious Who behind the what. i also think we are headed for a giant, incredible series of “Ahh-HAH!” moments as the world gets darker and God becomes brighter, and more present in our understanding. Just like the disciples did in John 12, they had a huge, “Ahh-hah!” moment. John 12:16 “His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and understood they had done these things to Him.” When Jesus was glorified, they remembered and said, “Ahh hah”, they understood.
This is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late night, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant. It’s a wonderful cafe at the end of Old Field Road where every Friday for 30 or more minutes is cool jazz and contemplative conversation. Actually, actually, this Friday is a very special Friday, this being Acoustic jazz night. i hope you’ll continue to lend us your ears; let’s go together and better understand what it is God is saying to us. Catch you on the bounce after the following brief interlude.
i went to the Firecracker 400 at the Daytona Speedway one year. All the people and all the cars all jammed together for a day of racing….there were SO many people. Great day in the morning! Part of that race event was something called “qualifying”, which is where each race team puts their car on the track and makes the fastest lap possible, with the race officials measuring the time it takes to go around the track in one complete lap. Qualifying places the drivers, from fastest to slowest, in the starting lineup…of course the faster the better, of course being at the front is better than being at the back.
How many of us are qualifying amongst our brethren in hopes of a better position as it relates to those around us? God never, ever asked us to qualify for His love or grace. It is not “if” we do such and such He will love us, nor is it “when” we do such and such He will love us more and extend us grace. Many believers have strayed a pretty good ways away from the basic gospel message that Jesus loves us….period….and we need understanding that we don’t have to qualify. We were born and breath, therefore we are qualified for the Love of God. Without understanding we are just part of the blind multitudes whose minds still wear the veil of “not understanding”, and not until we meet Jesus is that veil pulled away for a huge “Ahh-hah!” moment.
i’ll say it again, we don’t have to qualify for God’s love or favor, Jesus qualified us all at Calvary when He was crucified for our redemption and was raised from the dead that we would have life, and have it more abundantly. Let us understand and grasp this fully: we don’t have to qualify for God’s love, He does love you and is relentless in His pursuit of you, whether you hold your mouth right, say the right things, or make good decisions. It’s not God loves you “when” or God loves you “if”, it is simply………….God loves you. Got understanding?
Many years ago i needed to know what God wanted to do; i was at the end of the road in the place i was living. i had no understanding what to do next. i prayed, fasted, read my Bible, inquired from my well traveled friends as to the Word of the Lord … technically, i was doing everything right; still nothing, just silence as far as what God wanted to do. i would ask Him, “What do You want to do?” He would reply to me, “What do YOU want to do?” We went round and round, honestly, it was a bit maddening. i had no clue what i wanted to do but believed if i persisted and pursued Jesus, He would show me. i was determined, for possibly the first time in my life, i was determined, doggedly determined to not make a move until the Lord gave me clear direction. For four years i listened, wrote down my dreams, took notes, listened carefully to those i respected, listening for any Holy Spirit Resonance in their words. Also, i studied like a man crazy obsessed to understand. Metaphorically, i had my long distance field glasses out all day and night, watching the horizon for any sign of God’s word to me. Still there was silence. Don’t get me wrong, i did indeed have significant dreams and there were many times scripture came alive to me, but i knew i couldn’t make my dreams fit my agenda, nor make my agenda to fit my dreams and visions. i’ve done that before and it just doesn’t end well. i had to wait. i remember crying out to the Lord saying “Lord, please, we’re on the same team here! You and i talk all the time. i feel like sometimes the enemy knows more about what’s going on than i do. Why is that? i don’t understand!” In all the words i received, all the dreams and visions the Lord gave me, the truth was i didn’t understand what He was getting at. It was as if there was a veil across my spiritual eyes and my knowing and understanding had met a brick wall, not operating together like two people shaking hands in agreement. In complete desperation it seemed a tipping point came one morning when i truly fell apart before the Lord, “Why don’t You tell me what i want to do, then i can ask You for that and You can then give me understanding as to what to do?” i think that prayer was two things, it was the prayer of a righteous and desperate man, and it was from a heart which was abandoning all things in order to understand God’s direction. From then on, the Lord slowly began to unfold His plan, but even at that, most of the time i didn’t understand what i was hearing and seeing. But it did get better. Over time, i became interested in looking at property in a different part of America, west and north of the Mississippi. i didn’t know why i was interested, i just knew i was interested. Into my mind came the idea to get rid of my stuff, so much stuff. i had a dream of an airplane which couldn’t fly because there was too much ballast. In the dream the Lord said, “You weigh too much and you’re flying too low.” So i divested myself of all my stuff, reducing myself and my possessions down to next to nothing. Ahhh….i began to understand…the Lord gave it to me to put together the dots so to speak, exercising my mind. Then one day, i understood, (TING!)…i was going to move and i even knew where. Now i began to understand, to comprehend. i gave away my extra car, tools, and most everything else. One morning, as i was speaking with a friend, she pointed to the sky and said, “Look!”….there, in the sky, an airplane was sky-writing … it read, “Time to go”. Then i had a very vivid dream where i was standing on a large dock looking at an old sailing ship. As plainly as can be, i heard God say, “The wind and tide are with you, weigh anchor, set your sails, drop the tiller, get up and get gone.” (TING!) i understood. So i packed up all my stuff and drove 2700 miles to my new home. i didn’t understand what i was going to do there, but i understood what to do for the time.
If we ask the Lord, He will show us. God always confirms His word to us. Hold! Hold! Wait for it ….and position yourself. Get ready. Remember, there may be a lengthy character building exercise He does in order to prepare us for what’s next, so don’t get in a hurry if you can help it. If we ask God for understanding and are willing to pursue Him and wait, He will give us what we’re looking for. Do you get me?
Ephesians 1:17-18 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”.
Understanding – it’s one of the benefits of knowing Jesus. Understanding is one of God’s attributes which He shares with me, and for me, i don’t know about you, but for me, i’m ever so glad God shares this quality of Himself with me. According to Ephesians 1:17 & 18, if God didn’t give us understanding we wouldn’t have it. Some of us may avoid that truth, but it is still the truth none-the-less. When we believe in Christ, confessing Him with our mouths and believing on Him in our hearts, there comes an unveiling. Unless the Lord unveils our hearts we will be like the people of 2 Corinthians 4: 4, “ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” But because we have believed on the only begotten Son of God, our eyes are opened and we are made alive. 2Cor4:6, “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:7, “Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.” In this case, the word understanding means a “mental putting together”, and in Hebrews 11:3, the idea of understanding means to exercise the mind, observe, connect the dots, and comprehend.
In John 8:27, when it says, “They didn’t understand that he spoke to them of the Father.” “Didn’t understand” in that verse is used in the sense of perception not linked to grasping what was said so we get the picture that to perceive, or know, is not always linked to understanding. There are many many things i know of but i have no clue as to understanding the application. In Luke 18:34, when scripture says they understood none of these things, it means they had not put together the dots mentally and comprehended what Jesus was saying. When we possess knowledge and God discloses the inside scoop to us, we call that “insight”. Luke18:34 reveals what Jesus was saying was hidden from them, hidden being the word “krypto”, and not until Jesus unveiled their eyes did they have any understanding. i can only conclude if God doesn’t give it, we don’t get it, and it is a kindness He extends mankind wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Consider Matt5:45 where Jesus says, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. But it is the spirit in man, meaning the breath and inspiration of the Almighty which makes him understand, according to Job32. Let us stand in faith that the Lord is faithful to give us comprehension in the time we need it, to possess a “mental putting together” in all things. The Lord is faithful, and it is the desire of His heart for us to understand.
i read somewhere that those with understanding are able to abstract the meaning out of information, meaning they “see through” the facts to the dynamics of what, how, and why. On a side note, there is truly a difference between the facts and the truth. Understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus. Understanding produces “rules of thumb” or principles. i have witnessed miracles in my life, but really didn’t know what i was observing until the Lord walked me through the reasoning which became knowledge. i’ve heard it said Knowledge is the facts and knowing the truth. Understanding is the ability to lift the meaning out of the facts, and Wisdom is knowing what to do next. i think that maybe a little narrow, but it’s pretty good. Knowledge is recognizing what we see, and understanding is connecting the dots to become an Ah-Ha moment.
Proverbs 23:23 “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” i’m confident most of us want the wisdom and understanding but don’t want to sit through being instructed, yet the truth is, we’ll have to be willing to let the Lord instruct us. Think… if you’re not willing to sit with Him and let Him teach you, what makes you think you’re going to come to understanding without Him? We desperately need to seek the Lord for Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. The truth is, the world is completely lost without the Love of God, for without God’s redemption, there are no alternatives except to be lost. There is no other door to Heaven than through Jesus Christ. The god of this world demands we prepare a table before him, but God in His generosity and kindness prepares a table before us. i am no one important with titles and accolades, but i can say this….i am a foot soldier in the army of the Living God, desperately trying to hear and understand what He’s saying.
Got understanding? Think about it.
There are things of God which are beyond our ability to understand, like His peace – Philippians 4: 7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God is the perfect poet and He will never get tired of dreaming and imagining us. The Love of God is beyond me, i don’t understand, but yet there He is, guarding our hearts in His endless pursuit of us the object of His affections, regardless of ourselves.
Look to the Lord for your understanding. Go in peace this week, be strong and courageous.