This post was last updated on March 10, 2026

Day 362, Year 1

The Lord Gives Understanding

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20 NASB)

Jesus is willing to grant believers divine understanding, but we must have a heart to seek Him before we can receive anything from Him. I have met some believers who do not have the heart to seek His wisdom but make decisions based on their own choices. Although they think they believe in Jesus, they regress in spiritual life, instead of progressing. They were worse and more pitiful than some nonbelievers, with bleak and rough roads of life.

Some people think that when Jesus gives us wisdom, as long as we make decisions based on wisdom, we no longer need to seek His guidance or listen to His voice. In my opinion, they actually use a certain kind of wisdom or grace to nullify God’s guidance. In fact, God’s various gifts always complement each other. I believe that the greatest purpose of God’s wisdom is to enable us to find Jesus, to discern and confirm His guidance and His voice.

According to today’s verse, Jesus will grant us understanding, and eventually we will know God, who is eternal and truly alive. The true God, according to the scripture, refers to Jesus, but also to the Father and the Holy Spirit. The identities and personalities of the three persons of the One God are actually unique, somewhat different from one another. We need to understand them further as we grow spiritually. In any case, for veteran believers, God is more real than the world seen. Next, we learn to abide in Him and thus have eternal life. I sense that each of the many verses in the Bible is just an outline of the truth, and it is difficult to understand the truth if we don’t know how to accurately unfold His words and make them a blessing for us.

The second half of today’s verse states that believers are in Jesus, and we achieve this by a correct understanding of Him. Through sharing the scriptures in the past days, I have pointed out how the divine life, wisdom, understanding, humility, faith, honesty, etc., in the Bible can help us to adjust our attitudes and values in Him correctly, so that we can better enjoy God’s Word in the right way. We receive His wonderful life through His knowledge and our obedience to Him, and one by one, out with the old, in with the new, by Him. We need to change many of our beliefs, values, etc., when we follow the Bible, to walk in Christ. So, we can receive eternal life in Him, and then our lives will not waver due to any turbulence in this world.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you think you really received a lot of wisdom because of the Bible and Jesus? If yes, which of them are the most helpful for you?

2) Do you feel that your life is already in Jesus Christ? If not, what do you think you lack, and what actions are needed?