Proverbs 4:7 NKJV
When I was younger, maybe about six or seven years ago, I heard a preacher say "God ain't call you to understand, He called you to stand!" Back then I liked what I heard, so it joined my growing repertoire of sayings and phrases. I recall being in a meeting, and one member of the group was trying to figure out something I needed all of them to do. I know they mentioned the word "understanding," because it triggered the phrase, and I said "He ain't call you to understand, He called you to stand!" Yeah. Of course, they said nothing in return, and it wasn't until recently that Proverbs 4:7 came back to me.
Thing is, most people need that understanding. There are certain things you need to stand on: faith, His word, and His promises. I'm sure that is what the preacher meant, but I was too immature to hear it that way and then I used it inappropriately.
A lot of people don't want to think, especially on trivial things. We want things easy peasy: insert problem, out comes the solution. Talk with your pastor, minister, teacher, priest and they will pray on it and it will get solved. It is not that easy. I have had many pastors, and one of them would stand at the front of his church after service, and a line would form. Some people expressed gratitude, most, however, would come with their problems. And he would receive each and every one of them. Sometimes he prayed over them right then and there, other times he gave words of encouragement.
Another of my pastors would have none of that. After service was over, he was in his office. If you needed to talk to somebody, you better grab one of the associate ministers or deacons. And if you happen to grab him, you told him your problem, and the first thing out of his mouth, "What does God's word say? or Have you read your bible?" I won't lie. I thought that was such a cop-out. I would compare the two, and deem the kind minister who spent long minutes helping his congregation after service better.
But then a thought occurred to me: "why aren't you up there?" My answer would be because my problems aren't that tough. Other times my answer was "I've prayed over it and I am leaving it to God." Now, on occasion I have heard some of the requests, and yes, some of them, in my mind, were trivial things. But to that person it was major. I also understand wanting another person to be in agreement with you as you take it to God. But remember what I said about wanting things easy? Lots of people just take it to the pastor, minister, deacon, and teacher and leave it there. How many of you Christians have a friend who you only hear from when they have issues? People want to do the easy things. And as my other former pastor questioned, they will not read their bible. More on that on another day.
And getting wisdom? Whoo doggy. If you are not sighing with me, you haven't really tried to get wisdom. Look at Solomon, he was the wisest person on earth. And in his old age, he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. Throughout his life, he lived for wisdom. He tried everything in search of wisdom. And Ecclesiastes is depressing. Because sometimes that wisdom hurts.
Recently, I have had a co-worker and a friend lament the terrible misdeeds of so-called friends. They have told me about friends who lied to them and excluded them. And for them it hurt. Gaining that knowledge or the truth provided each of them with the opportunity to gain wisdom. What will be hard is the understanding. But really, when you get the understanding, life is better.
Solomon got all that wisdom by doing everything under the sun, but at the end, he understood that the only wisdom he needed was Godly wisdom. I have had friends lie, use, and exclude me. I have had co-workers take credit for my work. I have been accused and mistreated. Some of my friends, I understand why they did what they did. Nope, I did not like it but I understood. And forgave them or I'm in the process of forgiving. And because of all that hurt, you found out who really will pray for you. You find out who really will help.
God wants us to have wisdom, and He wants us to understand. The understanding may take some time to get, but when you get it, it turns the bitterness of the wisdom into a much treasured sweet. So get godly wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding!
Be encouraged and blessed!
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