Real wisdom and understanding may not be what you think.
From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, We have heard a rumor of it with our ears. God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. And he said to man, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding. (Job 28:20-28 ESV)
They were searching for the reason of their suffering, and stumbled into the fact that they may not be able to ever understand it on their own. In fact, the conclusion is that nobody will ever be wise enough of have enough understanding to explain what is happening. The conclusion they arrive at is an old folk song they recite in piety, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.” The “fear” of the Lord is simply respecting God so much that you do not wish to offend Him. That is to say that when you do everything in your power to live in the commands and intentions of God, you’re showing wisdom. Likewise, you understand “wisdom” when you intentionally choose to do the will of God, which is always good. If you want truly wise and have understanding, you will live to do good by intentionally choosing to act in ways that God would. It means choosing to be loving toward the unlovable; joyful when miserable; peaceful in turmoil; patiently enduring; kind; faithful; gentle; and displaying self-control or wisdom to do all of the above. Failing to do these things means we still have a long way to go in order to be wise or have understanding.
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