How Do We Find Wisdom and Understanding?

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance.”

Ephesians 1:18

I want to take you back to how it all began. This August has been one year since I launched my website and started fully committing to write about and share God’s Word with you. At the time, some of you may had been asking yourself what prompted me to do this. I feel like I need a reminder as to how God called me to this ministry, so I felt like I would bring you along on with me on this refresher course.

Several years ago, my sister and I attended a weekend conference in Memphis with Beth Moore, a well-known author and Bible teacher. We spent the entire weekend studying Ephesians 1:18. I’m not kidding, literally an entire weekend on one verse of the Bible. I thought that I would be bored with only studying one verse, but of course I was wrong. It’s funny how God’s Word can be so simple and yet so complex. This is when I became entranced with the word enlightened. I wanted to be enlightened in and by God’s Word. I wanted wisdom and understanding in Biblical context so bad I couldn’t stand it. I was raised in church. My parents had us in Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Sunday morning church, Wednesday night church, Youth Group, Summer Bible camps, you name it we were there. I grew up knowing the stories of the Bible and knowing Jesus. With all that said, I still felt like I did not fully understand the Bible and I wanted to. Not only did I want to understand the Bible, but I wanted to share this understanding with others. I had a desire for others to understand God’s Word right alongside me.

With this desire came questions, “How do I gain understanding and wisdom of one of the most misunderstood books in the World?” There are so many large and complicated words, there are subjects that are controversial in our world, there are people that devote their entire life to studying the Bible and still don’t understand it, and it can be very intimidating. How do I think I will gain wisdom and understanding in this beautiful and complex book? This was my thinking at the time. The same thoughts might have crossed your mind before. Sometimes we may even come across a passage that we don’t understand and instead of trying to figure it out, we give up on it because we think there is no way we can figure it out.

Here is my big question for us, “Why would a God that loves us not give us understanding into His Word?”

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:15-20

As I sat that weekend in a church in Memphis, TN, and studied these verses, I realized God does want us to gain wisdom and understanding in His Word. He does not intend for it to be a mystery to us. He would not give us a gift that we could not use.

The Bible is a tool we can use to get closer to God, something that gives us a better understanding of God, His Son, and His Spirit. The word enlightened means factually well-informed, guided by rational thought, or claiming a sense of spiritual or religious revelation of truth. To be enlightened is to be knowledgeable. Knowledge is the awareness of information gained through observation, experience, or study. When we have wisdom we have the ability to apply this knowledge. After fully understanding this, I realized I wanted to be knowledgeable in God’s Word so that I can carry out what I am learning from God.

I want to share with you 6 ways that will help us become knowledgeable in God’s Word.

1. Ask for wisdom from God. This was the first thing I did. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he is praying that God would enlighten the people. We need to pray that God would enlighten us with knowledge and wisdom that only He can give. Admitting that we lack wisdom and realizing that we can only get it from God is putting it completely in His hands.

   “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

2. Ask faithfully. Believe in your prayers to God. Do not go to God and ask with doubts in the back of your mind or without willing to do the work God has you to do. Faithfully asking of God is faithfully obeying Him when He calls you. If you do have doubts, start there. Lay those doubts out honestly before the Lord and ask Him to deal with those through His Word.

   “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:6-7

3. Be humble. Showing humility is knowing that God is above you. God’s power is more than you can fathom. Admit that you cannot do it on your own and that you need God’s mighty works to help you in your understanding and decision making.

   “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

4. Read the Holy Scriptures and know the Words of God. Put in the work and the time of sitting down and reading the scriptures. Everything that is great is worth working for. Devoting time to reading the scriptures is not easy but it is absolutely necessary for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding them and knowing them by heart.

   “And how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:15

5. Know the Lord our God better. Spend time deepening your relationship with Christ by reading the scriptures, going to or listening to church, spending time with others that know Christ, and by learning His ways and characteristics. This will help us as we learn His ways and follow His teachings.

   “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in who are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3

6. Practice the Words of God. Let what you are learning from God shine out into the world. Don’t just keep God’s Word for yourself but allow God’s light to shine from you to others. By our practicing what we learn allows us to deeply understand and appreciate God’s living and holy Word.

   “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16

Ephesians 1:18 is my theme verse for my website, it is posted on the home page for us to see every time we log on. It has always been my prayer for you and myself that God will give us knowledge and understanding in His Word so that we may carry it out to others. Without the understanding of the Bible, we cannot obey what it says and obey God and His commandments. As we start a new year together in studying God’s Word, may we gain deeper understanding than we ever thought possible.

Digging Deeper:

Read James 3:17, Colossians 4:5-6, Matthew 7:24, Proverbs 4:7, and Proverbs 1:7.

What makes understanding the Bible difficult for you?

How can you commit to understanding the Bible? What does this commitment look like in your daily life?

Show God that you trust in His mighty power by asking Him to give you wisdom and understanding into His Word.