Knowledge does not equal Understanding

An educator friend of mine recently shared a video with me from the Youtube channel "Smarter Every Day".  The host of these videos is Destin Sandlin, a Christian rocket engineer at Redstone Arsenal who has combined his scientific curiosity and sense of fun and created a series of educational videos which also reflect his faith. Take 8 minutes and watch this video about his attempt to learn how to ride a backwards brain bicycle.

I'd love to try this out, but I'm afraid I'd have the same results.  Although we rarely experience such a clear example, I think we all realize that knowing something doesn't automatically mean that we understand it.
This Sunday, May 31, we'll be looking at Philippians 1:9-11 in which Paul shares how he is praying for these Christian friends of his in the Greek city of Philippi.  His greatest joy comes from seeing them mature in their faith and a big part of that process requires that they grow in knowledge AND discernment.  That means having information and having the insight in order to properly apply what they know.
Life is chock full of challenges that often times feels like trying to ride a backwards brain bicycle.  The good news is that Jesus never abandons us to struggle through these challenges on our own.  Let's be sure to keep talking with Him, seeking out His help and wisdom, and relying on His strength in our struggles.  After all, He's still in control in His UPPER story -- and that makes all the difference in our lower story challenges.