Men of Understanding

Happy Father’s Day (in advance) to all the fathers and the upcoming fathers everywhere. It is always a beautiful sight seeing people being appreciated for who they are and the impact they have made.

I was privileged to talk to the men today on the topic Men of Understanding and I thought to share it with here so that other people can be blessed as it is a message that can benefit anybody; men or women, old and young. The anchor text for this topic is Daniel 6:1-3. Below is an excerpt from the talk.

The reason why a lot of things are wrong in our lives, families, churches and the society is due to lack of understanding. Because of lack of understanding many are living in ignorance, guilt, fear, self-pity, mediocrity and so on.

What is Understanding?

Understanding means to really know something. It is to become aware of something such that it changes your view about that thing. When understanding comes, there will be a change or an action that follows it.

Let’s look at the following scenarios:

1. Luke 15:11-20 (focus is on 17-20): Here we see the prodigal son who took his inheritance and left home. At a point he lost everything and began to take care of pigs. He even longed for the food of the pigs until he came to a realization, which was that even as a servant he could live better than he was living at that point and this was when he went home. As realization came, he took an action.
2. John 4:7-29 (focus on 25-29): At first when Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman, she countered everything that He said. As He continued talking to her, He told her that He was the Messiah and an understanding came, it was like her eyes were open and she left her jar of water, even her societal status (she was somewhat of a kept woman) and ran to call the people. When understanding comes, priorities change.
3. Acts 10:1-23 (focus on 9-16): Cornelius was a man who was good but God wanted him to become right with Him, so He asked Cornelius to send for Peter. Now Peter as of that moment still saw Gentiles as people that were not partakers of Christ’s death until the Holy Spirit revealed to him in a vision that “what God has made clean, do not call common”. It was as this understanding came to Him that he was able to go to Cornelius.
4. 2 Kings 7:3-5: The lepers were in a situation we can liken as “between a hard place and a rock”. Any path they would have taken seemed to lead to death but after questioning themselves, they came to an understanding and went to the camp of the Syrians. As a result of the action they took, Israel was saved from the famine ravaging them.
5. 2 Kings 2:19-22: The people of Jericho had a problem, which was that their water supply was contaminated, so it was bitter and of no use. Now the men of Jericho refused to “manage” the problem but chose to find a solution. This was because they had an understanding that things were not supposed to remain that way.

Sources of Understanding

1. Encounter with Jesus: From the passage in John were we read, the first source of understanding is an encounter with Jesus. An interaction with Him.
2. Deep thought: The prodigal son in Luke 19, “came to his senses” when he thought deeply. In the quietness of your mind , you begin to reason.
3. Revelation through the Holy Spirit: This was what brought Peter into an understanding of what should be in Acts 10.
4. Restlessness: The lepers were uncomfortable with their situation, they were desperate so to say. If you are comfortable with where you are, there will be no advancement.
5. Studying: We get understanding by studying. Studying the Word of God, books that inspire and uplift us, biographies and autobiographies of people that challenge us and so on.
6. Questions: We gain understanding by asking questions, not just any question but the right questions. If you’re in a situation where your business keeps going up or down, it is important to ask questions. “Why does my business keep flunctuating?”, “What is the cause?” or if your prayer life is down, ask yourself some questions, “Why do I not pray?”, “What keeps me from praying?”, “How can I pray more?”.

The questions you ask and the questions you do not ask is the determinant factor of your condition.

Why must we seek understanding?

1. To fulfil purpose: Understanding helps us to discover our hidden potentials.
2. To deliver us from falsehood: Understanding helps us to know the right thing.
3. It is a positive step to problem solving: When you get understanding, you know the source of your problems and the appropriate solutions.
4. It makes difficult tasks simple.
5. It unfolds the truth.
6. It puts you on the right direction.
7. It creates room for forgiveness.
8. It gives you an edge over others.

As fathers celebrating Father’s day, we need to know that having understanding is very important in all areas of our lives. We need to be men who are troubled by the present state we find ourselves in and will not rest until we see the change that we desire. Remember that the best version of yourself is yet to come.

We should not forget that we have our Father in heaven who is ever faithful to guide us and help us in this walk we are on. He is there to reveal the truth to us and open our eyes.

Prayer: Dear Lord, let your light shine on me and open the eyes of my understanding. Cause me to be restless until I move to where I am supposed to be. In Jesus Name. Amen.

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