The Understanding of a Thriver
Pastor Zubeda Sing · 3 min read
“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you”
The Hebrew word for understanding is “Binah” – it means a deeper or more profound understanding or discernment, practical intelligence, insight, wisdom and so much more.
Understanding comes as we grow. We start life by being pretty self absorbed and obsessed with things that concern us. As we grow in the things of God, we find that self seems to take second place because we see that it is more than us that need to be happy or content. If we do not make room for others, we have a very chaotic world around us. God allows people into our lives to develop us and teach us. The holy Spirit works through us by allowing us the maturity of understanding ourselves and others. The key to life is to live at peace with others. How do we do this. We consider others, we see what makes others happy and discern between good and evil. Understanding and love go together like a hand in a glove. Love allows us to overlook an offense, because love tells us that the person who has wronged us is still growing and needs room to grow. People do not leave our cirle of influence just because they annoy us, God allows them to stay there so that we can help them grow and God can grow us in the fruit of the spirit. Not very pleasant but, oh so necessary to create a peaceful environment that stimulates growth and makes disciples of men and women.
At this point, I trust we all realise how important understanding is in our arsenal. Actually wisdom and understanding become a weapon of warfare. We do not just engage in warfare or arguments with others. We allow the Holy Spirit to give us guidance as to how to wage a good warfare. In this way, we pick our fights wisely. There are many things we will ignore because we understand it has nothing to do with us. We still face challenges but amazingly we begin to rest more knowing our God will not allow the enemy to devour us. We see with the eyes of love and the spirit of God. I will give you one example here, you are driving on the highway and suddenly a person cuts in front of you. Do you ignore the person or do you also engage in road rage? I will leave the answer to you. Wisdom and understanding will tell you to let the person go. In this way I thrive all the days of my life.
From the February 2026 issue, themed THE YEAR TO THRIVE.
