“Teach me good discernment and knowledge for I believe in your commandments” – Psalm 119:66
We all have heard of the first man and the first command given by God in the Garden, “From all the trees of the Garden you are most welcome to eat. But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you must not eat. For when you eat from it, you most assuredly will die” (Gen. 1:16-17). The fruit of that Tree was Discernment; to know the difference between Good and Evil. The problem was they did not have the Wisdom (knowing what to do with the knowledge) needed to handle that great responsibility.
Our powers of discernment must be trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. It's not: believe, then know forever good from evil; not: read the bible once and get it, not: go to church 5 years when younger and get it, but we all need constant practice. "Discernment is not the ability to know right from wrong, but knowing the difference between right and almost right."
Discernment is to understand or know something through the power of the Spirit...It includes perceiving the true character of people and the ability to evaluate situations and choose courses of action while staying aware of the moral implication of all options. Yet, we need to recognize that discernment isn't something that just happens but requires hard work and attentiveness. For example, what should you do when God gives you a work to do and you want to follow God, but have multiple choices that appear promising and good? How can you know if you’re hearing from God or simply listening to your own desires?
The responsibility of every Believer is to be discerning: "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil" (1Thess. 5:21-22). We are warned by Apostle John saying, "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…" (1 John 4:1). Discernment is not optional for the Believer…it is required.
With so much deception in the world, every Believer needs spiritual discernment. Although we have access to God’s Wisdom, it’s not something we automatically possess. Instead, it must be diligently pursued. His Word is the place to start because spiritual discernment comes only when we know the Truth and can think scripturally about every situation we encounter.
Though discernment does not appear overnight, it does develop when we “search for her as for hidden treasures”. So don’t wait until you’re facing a critical decision…start asking the Lord for His Wisdom today. We need time to practice His kind of humility so we’ll learn to hear His voice among the noises of life and obey. In the meantime, rest assured that no matter what decision you make, God will be with you (Psa. 139:7-12).
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