Misunderstood

“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen

a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”

(Isaiah 64:4 NLT)

Have you ever felt misunderstood?

Not just “they didn’t hear what I said,” but “they don’t at understand me at all.” Being misunderstood is a hard thing because we all want (I would say “need”) to be known and loved. When we open ourselves up to that state of being known and loved, we risk being rejected. Being misunderstood is one form of rejection and when it happens we can often become less likely to open up and risk again.

I believe one of the reasons we can be misunderstood is because when we are Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we are led by a different Spirit than that of the world. The world cannot understand us because they do not have the same driving force, guiding into all truth and righteousness. Holy Spirit gives us insight into God’s wisdom – something that this world cannot understand – and searches all things, including our thoughts and emotions within us. The person around us who does not have the Spirit within them and who considers God foolishness does not have the mind of Christ. We who are led by the Spirit and have the mind of Christ will also have the Fruits of that Spirit – love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And these are just some of the gifts God wants to give us.

We are never misunderstood by God.

Wise God,

Thank you for the many gifts and blessings you pour into our lives – from the everyday things like breathing, food, warmth, friendship, shelter, etc. to the life-altering things like salvation, marriages, purpose, and love. Thank you for the mystery of grace that was destined for us because of the revelatory work of Holy Spirit in our lives. Thank you that you have prepared many good things for us. Help us to recognize the still, small voice within us that guides us into your Truth and gives us your fruits of the Spirit. When we are misunderstood by the people and spirits of this world, remind us that we are fully known and loved by you. Give us your words, your wisdom, and your judgement as we go about this day. In the strong name of Christ we pray, Amen.

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—
[Isaiah 64:4]

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-16 NIV)

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13 NIV)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. ” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)