Understanding

Understanding God
Numbers 21:1-22:41

"'King Balak could give me his palace full of silver and gold, but I cannot disobey the Lord my God in anything great or small.'... That night God came to Balaam and said, 'These men have come to ask you to go with them. Go, but only do what I tell you.'... But God became angry because Balaam went, so the angel of the Lord stood in the road to stop Balaam....Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, 'I have sinned; I did not know you were standing in the road to stop me. If I am wrong, I will go back.'... Balaam answered, 'I have come to you now, but I can't say just anything. I can only say what God tells me to say." (Numbers 22:18,20,22,34,38)

Such an interesting story, the infamous talking donkey of the Bible. But this morning what struck me is Balaam's apparent desire to do God's will. I believe he went believing that was God's will. He just didn't exactly understand God's plan. You can see it when Balaam says, "I have sinned; I did not know you were standing in the road to stop me. If I am wrong, I will go back." I have felt like this many times. Sometimes it's not so easy to see our own sin. But, when God helps us to see, we must recognize, repent and agree to "go back." However, the beautiful thing is that we have help. We are not on our own. Lord, I ask that the Holy Spirit teach me how to go back... how to understand all Your desires and plans for my life and how to live those out.

Understanding Us
Psalm 33:6-15

"The Lord looks down from heaven and sees every person. From his throne he watches all who live on earth. He made their hearts and understands everything they do." (Psalm 33:13-15)

A Lord that understands everything I do! That's pretty amazing, seeing as I oftentimes don't understand the things I do. But our Lord God sees all, knows all, and understands all. It's so powerful to have someone understand you. It entails a close personal relationship- those who understand me have experience with who I am. And who has greater deeper knowledge of the secrets of our soul than our Lord? Thank You for understanding me, Lord... understanding when it's hard. Take my heart and let it be Yours forever, Lord.

Understanding the Teachings
Mark 12:28-44

"The man answered, 'That was a good answer, Teacher. You were right when you said God is the only Lord and there is no other God besides him. One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are moreimportant than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God. When Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely, Jesus said to him, 'You are close to the kingdom of God.'" (Mark 12:32-34)

This verse stood out to me this morning, because it's so interesting that I can't recall another like it... where someone applauds or agrees with Jesus' teachings. "Yes, that's right." Or "I can see that." At least it's not recorded. Why was it recorded here? Perhaps understanding the importance and goodness of Jesus' teachings is the key to being close to the kingdom of God. We must love his word, his ways and his teaching. May I understand the beauty of Your teachings, Lord Jesus, always searching to keep that my focus all day long.