Recently while doing Bible study I hit what felt like a snag. Everything had been going well till that point and it was a smooth flow of revelation. But then I read a portion of scripture expecting immediate understanding and....Nothing, no revelation or understanding. So I read it again. And again. And again. I was determined not to glaze past it because I knew there was a message here. In my growing frustration, I turned to Greek and Hebrew definitions of what I was reading for more clarity and even looked up a Delitzsch commentary on the subject but still...Nothing. It was at that point and at that dead end that The Holy Spirit reminded me to lean not on my own understanding because it's Him that teaches us and gives us understanding.
Some times we'll reach what we think is a snag as we read the Bible and it can be oh so tempting to pull up what we already know on the subject, or look up what other people are saying on the subject but revelation is very personal it's fellowship with The Spirit of God and it's Him that will guide us to listen to or read material from other people if He so chooses. Revelation is not about what I want to know it's about what The Lord is saying to me and what He wants me to say to other people. He more than anyone knows what we and others need and that's why at times He'll reveal or choose to conceal certain things to be revealed later. Our part is to humble ourselves before Him and receive from Him for The Word to be effective in our lives and others through impartation of what He has revealed to us. Each and everytime I open The Bible I ask The Holy Spirit to give me understanding and I ask Him to "open my eyes that I may see, open my ears that I may hear" and same goes for anything I watch or listen to. I never read/watch/listen without asking The Lord for understanding. And sometimes (may seem a little dramatic for some but works for me), I may say "speak Lord your servant is listening."
So to back track a little, after struggling to understand that portion of Scripture, reaching a dead end and receiving a gentle reminder from The Holy Spirit to ask Him and not lean on my own understanding, I asked Him to opened my Bible and said asked Him to "open my eyes that I may see, open my ears that I may hear" and give me understanding and then in a way that only He can, things I hadn't noticed before started jumping up at me and I finally got an understanding and message from that portion of Scripture. We have to get out of our own way and not lean on our own understanding, knowing it's only and only by Him Who is The Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding and Revelation, that we get understanding and clarity. We are ever learning so we are perpetual students in The school of The Holy Spirit and experience or knowledge of The Word has nothing to do with it, He always has something new and fresh to reveal and that is humbling in itself. Anytime we feel like we've hit a snag, we need to step away pray and ask The Lord to help refocus us, and remind ourselves we are ever learning students and to put past revelation or understanding aside, humble ourselves before Him and receive what He has for us. As The Scripture Proverbs 8:14 shared above says, The Lord IS understanding so not only does He give understanding but He is the very Substance of it.
