HEARING WITH UNDERSTANDING

DAY 204 OF 365 IN 2021

Matthew 13:19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.

Around the globe, an estimated 6500 languages are spoken. Regardless, even the best polyglots speak only up to about 20 of this total, a mere 0.3%.
Thus, there is a high likelihood that many interactions would not come with understanding because of the prospect of multilingual communication.

In proverbs 24:3 we read ‘By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. These are the hard facts: in the absence of understanding, warnings, exhortation and instruction can serve no real purpose to its hearers. They will amount to nothing more than sound frequencies being registered via the auditory nerve. So Jesus’ explanation of the seeds that fall by the wayside is highlighted :

'when anyone hears the word and does not understand it, the evil one comes to snatch away what was sown in their heart.

Let’s not picture an actual scene like a thief snatching a purse, but rather the inability of hearers to be impacted by the words that reach their ears because there is no understanding. Beloved, the Spirit of God was given and among his job description is to teach us to understand the things and ways of God – including His word.

If there is no understanding, the enemy would have no concern watching believers sit for hours and days unending just listening to the word because understanding is the requirement that ignites the power for transformation in the mind. Without it, the word is actually not effective to the believer.

#sly