SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND
(Eph 1:17-18; Col 1:9; Pro 4:7)
“April showers bring May flowers” The month of April, traditionally a rainy period, gives way to May, when flowers will bloom because of the water provided to them by the April rains. This means that a period of discomfort or hardship you may be experiencing now will give way and provide the basis for your period of happiness and joy. I welcome you to the month of May. Our theme for this month is ‘Seeking to understand’.
Let’s consider these three Scriptures,
Eph 1:17-18 “...That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints….” (KJV).
Col 1:9 “...we ask God to give you a complete understanding of what He wants to do in your lives (knowledge of His will), and we ask Him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom” (Col 1:9, NLT)
Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: And with all thy getting get understanding (KJV).
Our theme consists of two important words: seeking and understanding. To seek means to look for something, to search. It is an action word, and so implies that effort rather than wishful thinking is required. The Bible tells us in Math 7:7 that the one who seeks will find. Understanding on the other hand means to know convincingly and beyond doubt. It is to “see” what is being communicated. In our world, when someone understands a fact, he says “oh, I see…” He was never physically blind, but now, his mind has been able to grasp the concept of whatever was being communicated. This is why Paul prayed in Eph 1:18 for the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened that we may know. In other words, the more we understand, the more we know. Putting the two words together implies that growing in understanding takes deliberate effort. Now, we cannot understand the things of the kingdom by ourselves, this is why we need the Holy Spirit. But we have to make the conscious and deliberate effort to seek diligently, to go after knowledge, and then God by His Spirit helps us understand (Job 32:8).
What then are we to understand? Among other things, we are to understand:
THE NATURE OF GOD: “..that I may Know Him…” (Phil 3:10)
Intimacy in our walk with God demands that we understand more of who God is as a person. Just like every relationship thrives by understanding, it is essential that we desire and put in the effort to know and understand God. There is so much to know about God, and the more we grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him, the more our faith grows (Dan 11:32), the higher the measure of grace we walk in (2 Pet 1:2). The more our understanding of who God is, the easier it is to trust Him (2 Tim 1:12). It was an understanding of the nature of God that made Abraham intercede for Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen 18:25). You see, there is an understanding of the person of God that you come to that makes you know that there is a way that God acts, that there are some things He cannot and will not do. Why? Because it is NOT in His nature to do so. The Bible says that it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie (Heb 6:18). The God we serve is a God whose ways are past finding out (Rom 11:33, Isa 55:8-9), and yet, He makes His ways known to those who seek to know them (Exo 33:13, Ps 103:7). God says that if we want to boast of anything, it should be that we know and understand Him (Jer 9:24).
THE NATURE OF MAN: “...for He knew what was in man [human nature].” (Jhn 2:25)
Jer 17:9 - “...the heart of man is deceitful…and desperately wicked, who can know it?”
Ps 103:14 - “For He knoweth your frame…”
It takes the explanation of the manufacturer of a tool to understand how that tool functions. God knows us; He made us (Ps 100:3). Man has tendencies, negative tendencies. There are many things we can swear we would never do, but when circumstances change, we find ourselves right in the middle of those actions (ask Peter about denying Jesus). Why? It is the human weakness, the human tendency. Except God reveals yourself to you, you will think you are invincible (Prov 21:2). Only when God reveals the frail nature of man, the frail nature of ourselves to us only then do we see the need for His mercy (2 Corith 3:5). Then like David, we can say with gratitude, what is man that Thou art mindful of him? (Ps 8:4-5).
OUR WORLD: “And we know that…the whole world lieth in wickedness” 1 Jhn 5:19
Ps 115:16 - “The highest heaven belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to man”
Understanding how the world works is very essential to making the most of our time here on earth. First, we are to understand that we live in a wicked world, and there are forces that will oppose us as children of God. But even more importantly, we are to understand that we are to live in practical dominion over the powers of darkness; redemption gives us this authority. Then, we are to understand the place of building meaningful relationships, because all good things come from God to man THROUGH man; you are not meant to live life in isolation (Lk 16:8-9). You must understand the principles that govern the world you live in (Gen 8:22), and live by them.
OUR CALLING: “...that ye may know what is the hope of His calling…” Eph 1:18
1 Cor 7:20 - “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called”
Phil 3:14 - “I press towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”
Col 1:9 - “...we ask God to give you a complete understanding of what He wants to do in your lives…”
According to 2 Tim 1:9, there is a calling upon everyone who is saved. It has nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God’s righteous purpose. God is very intentional about His people, and we all have a part to play in His grand scheme. However, it is important we understand what this plan is as revealed to us by the Word (Ps 40:7, Isa 29:11-12); Jesus found what was written about Him. He understood His assignment, and He went passionately and focused after it (Heb 12:1-2). As children of God, we need to understand what it is that we have been called to do (Eph 2:10). Understanding of purpose takes away distraction and uncertainty; when you do not know what is expected of you, you will fall for every lie and live by people’s opinions. Understanding your calling will serve as a restraint to what you can and cannot do. If Samson really understood his calling, he would have stayed away from sin. When you understand that you cannot just live life anyhow, that you have an assignment, that you will be accountable to the one who called you, you will make every effort to not get replaced or disqualified (2 Tim 2:4; 1 Pet 1:15). Moreover, God is a God of details. Whatever aspect of your calling that is unclear, He is always there to clarify; we just have to trust and obey. Understanding our calling also means that because we know that we are limited as men, we acknowledge that we need help beyond our own strength to fulfill God’s plan for our lives (2 Corith 3:5, Jhn 15:5b, Phil 2:13).
The subject of understanding cannot be exhausted. This is why we must not stop seeking. Prov 21:16 - “the man that wandereth away from the place of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead." It is noteworthy to mention that where you look matters: looking for a thing in the wrong place, no matter the effort put in, will surely result in frustration. The Word of God contains the answers we all need (Ps 119:130) - His Word gives understanding on any subject matter. Daniel said that he understood by books (Dan 9:2a) - cultivate the habit of reading, reading to find. There are those who have seen the light that you seek; read their books so that you can access that same light (Ps 36:9), but remember they must be people of faith and patience who have inherited the promise (Heb 6:12). Involve the Holy Spirit in your search too - He is the spirit of quick understanding (Isa 11:3); He helps our faith too because we understand spiritual things by faith (Heb 11:3a)
Go for light! In all thy getting, get understanding!! (Prov 4:7). In the series, we shall explore seeking to understand the nature of God, the nature of man, the nature of our calling and the nature of our world. Come along!