✍️ Who... has understanding among you? To be understanding is to be sympathetic to someone's woes. Understanding a concept means you get it. A person of understanding is thoughtful, empathetic, and knowledgeable. Understanding comes from an open, honest attitude and emotional maturity. Wisdom cannot be invented or purchased; God alone knows the meaning of the world 🌎, and He grants it only to those who live in reverence before Him. Job then confesses his lack of wisdom, meaning his lack of understanding of the workings of the cosmos and of the ability to maintain it.

The word "understanding" is used only in the New Testament to have the idea of being a specialist. We all understand this in the medical field. If you get cancer, you need to see an oncologist. When your children get sick, you may take them to a paediatrician. If you injure your face, you probably will need to see a plastic surgeon. We see this type of specialization in every area of life. A gifted trumpeter 🎺 devoted years to mastering his instrument. A gifted opera singer works for years to develop her voice to the highest level.

No one becomes a specialist by accident. You may have heard of Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers, who calls 10,000 hours the "magic rule for greatness". It doesn't mean you will be great at something merely by spending 10,000 hours working at it, but you'll never achieve greatness without those 10,000 hours. As someone has said, it takes 20 years to be an overnight success. I know of only two ways to become a "specialist" in the Christian life: People and Pain. We learn a great deal simply by hanging around with people who are wiser than we are.

That's why the Bible instructs older men and older women to mentor younger men and younger women. Young folks need good examples to show them how to make a wise choice about dating, marriage, starting a career, raising children, and serving the Lord. New believers need to know how to pray 🙏 and how to read the Bible and how to share their faith. They need to know how to make tough decisions that honour the Lord. The only way to grow is through pain. No one likes this, but no one is exempt from it either. James has already said our trials produce perseverance that leads to spiritual growth so we lack nothing we need James 1:2-4. Job 23:10 reminds us that when we have passed through the furnace of affliction, we will come forth like gold. If we cooperate with God, hard times become an avenue for enormous spiritual growth.

There is gold, and then there is "fool's gold". It looks like gold to the naked eye 👁️, but it isn't, and it's not worth anything. Too many Christians settle for "fool's gold" in the choices they make. Let me give you a simple definition of the "understanding" James has in mind: It's the ability to make wise choices under pressure. This is an important prayer request for parents to offer on behalf of their children. Pray that your children (and your grandchildren) learn to make wise choices under pressure. Most of us can make wise choices if we have two days to think about it. But life usually doesn't work that way, especially for the young. They make split-second decisions every day. Young people today are on the firing line all the time. Pray 🙏 for your children that they will have wisdom from God to choose what is best when they don't have much time to make up their minds. The Lord grant all your prayers in Jesus Name 🙏.