Understanding Part 15

Proverbs 15:14 NKJV

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

Solomon says that one thing that will reveal your level of understanding is what you choose to pursue. There are so many options around us when it comes to taking in information or entertainment.  Fools pursue foolishness – things that have no value, but are counterproductive to developing a fruitful life. The person with understanding seeks for knowledge – information that will benefit. Lord, help us to be wise about the use of our time, and seek knowledge instead of foolishness.

Understanding Part 14

Proverbs 14:33 NKJV

Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known.

We need understanding to know what to share and what to keep. In Matthew 7:6 Jesus warned against casting pearls before swine that would trample them under their feet and then attack you. Sometimes we can be so excited about what we have learned that we want to tell everyone. However, some things God shares with us or some things we learn or discover are not to be shared indiscriminately. Some things we need to keep totally to ourselves for a time. Some things need to be shared with a specific person or a select group, while other things are for disseminating to the public. Wisdom and understanding help us to discern what to do with what we know. So let us seek God’s face and stay close to Him to allow Him to develop us in the area of wisdom and understanding.

Understanding Part 13

Proverbs 14:29 NKJV

He who is slow to wrath has great understanding. But he who is impulsive exalts folly.

The more understanding we get the less angry we will be. Anger is justifiable in some cases. Even God gets angry. However, if God did not have control of His anger we would all be destroyed. Sometimes people have said that if they were God they would have destroyed the world by now. We should all be glad that God alone is God and He is slow to anger. Obviously He understands more than we do. He is good and He is wise. As we increase in understanding we will be less impulsive and more in control of our emotions. It will take more to get us angry. We can try to be less impulsive and slow to anger but without increasing in understanding we will have a great struggle. We must endeavor to increase in understanding. As we get more understanding we will not have to try, we will automatically see improvement in those areas.

Understanding Part 12

Proverbs 9:10 NKJV

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The scripture tells us that understanding comes with knowledge of God. If we sincerely want an increase in understanding we must pursue knowing God. Knowledge of God comes through His Word and fellowship with Him. We fellowship with Him through prayer and meditation, by involving ourselves in His work on earth as submitted servants, and by living our lives in accordance with the Book He supplied as our guide.

Understanding Part 11

Proverbs 8:1-6 NKJV

Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors: “To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O you simple ones, understand prudence,
and you fools, be of an understanding heart. Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things;

These verses in Proverbs 8 reveal that one of the ways we get understanding as well as wisdom is by listening. We usually do more talking to God than listening to Him. It is challenging for the natural mind to be aware of a being that does not appear in the flesh. So we often talk to God and hope He hears us, but never expect that He might want to say something back. Even more challenging is practicing listening to Him even when we are not praying. It may be that we need to hear from Him more than He needs to hear from us. It could improve our level of wisdom and understanding if we realized that as Solomon said, wisdom and understanding are on the hilltop and in the meeting places. They are at the entrances everywhere we go. Sometimes we are in too much of a hurry to hear the voices of wisdom and understanding that speak to us to help us avoid hurting ourselves. Pride is another thing that hinders us from hearing. We have often had our minds made up about what we should do, want to do, plan to do, and we close our ears because we don’t want to be told anything to the contrary. It will be smart to humble ourselves and begin to give wisdom and understanding a chance to speak by surrendering our wills to God’s will and listening for the voice that is ready to speak to us in every situation of our lives.

Understanding Part 10

Psalm 119:130 NKJV

The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

It’s amazing how sometimes simple people can have more spiritual understanding than those who appear to be so intelligent. The difference is the attitude toward God’s Word. The psalmist here says that when the Word enters our hearts we are enlightened. Though we may be simple it will give us understanding. That requires humility – coming to the Word with a desire to learn and not coming as though we already know it all.