12 Minutes
The utmost distinction of discernment is its pursuit in truth. And it is manifested by that dimension of faith where God is set before us. In our discernment the Lord is present with us. The truth is not given to equip us with concepts and ideas to debate and to discuss. The truth is given as invitations for divine encounter so we could know by experience that God is upon us and He is with us. We are each unique incarnations of God, bringing to visible and tangible expression, God’s presence in the world. When love transforms our behavior, Christ is represented. Christ is the life of the believer. In Christ we discover what is ours to do. We must go through a process of discernment as we give flesh to the word. We must connect with our sacred vocation in service to the purposes assigned us to bring the world to Christ. Not every decision can be straightforward: we must consider our goals and options; maybe we list the pros and cons of each possible choice; and then we choose the action that meets our goal most effectively. Discernment, on the other hand, is about listening and responding to that place within us where our deepest desires align with God’s desire. As discerning people, we sift through our impulses, motives, and options to discover which ones lead us closer to divine love and compassion for ourselves and other people and which ones lead us further away. Discernment reveals new priorities, directions, and gifts from God. We gain the experience of a strange inner freedom to follow a new call as previous concerns move into the background of our consciousness. We begin to see the beauty of the hidden life of Jesus.
God’s concrete ways of loving us and the world gradually is made known to us. Discernment is our ability to perceive things as they are. Discernment is about perception and judgment. We can perceive and judge things without making any decision. We need to be a discerning people. We must discern the voice of God, speaking in His word, from competing voices, that our decisiveness to act is concluded by scripture. Discernment is that intent where we read our own spirit, where we are the one who makes the decision confirmed by the word of God. Discernment brings clarity. It keeps us from jumping from thought to thought, as we probe the probable and/or possible consequences of choice. Discernment has us ask why, to eliminate any bias we have by being indifferent about our search for truth. We learn that acknowledging that there may be something we don't already know is essential for growth. Discernment and decisioning help us define a challenge, reason for solution, and judge what is truth. All the alternatives should be exposed.
Our position should be like a balance or equilibrium, without leaning to either side, when reasoning with the word that we might be ready to follow whatever truth is perceived the more for the glory and praise of God our Lord and for the salvation of our soul. This is how we are serving God in attaining the end for which He chooses us. And anything that proves a hindrance, we must remove of ourselves. Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, long life to a short life. We trust God. Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are to serve the purposes of God. Before we discern, ask, beg the Lord for guidance, that we can really do this thing right, that we can place the Lord's values properly, that we can understand and assess the matter properly.
We should beg God to consent to move our will, and to bring to our mind what we ought to do in every matter that would be more for His praise and glory. Then we should use the understanding and the discernment to weigh the matter with care and fidelity, and make our decision in conformity with what would be more pleasing to His most holy will. We may hear prayerfully to the thoughts that come to us and through others. We study preceptually every word and make certain there is no disturbance underlining it. We weigh the subject to reckon its advantages and benefits to our salvation. Let none decide for you. Think on what decision and action you would follow if you were at the moment of your death; what decision and action you would follow if you were in the presence of our Judge on the last day. We must often “wrestle” with God to encounter the truth and to understand it. Reason must not yield to any sensual inclination. If you are troubled with an issue, look inside yourself, because nothing from the outside should make us feel troubled, only some motive in our self. Discovering that motive might resolve the trouble.
The gift of discernment is like this. Some shadows are erased, so that the beauty of a good decision begins to shine through the haze of conflict and fear. We are to welcome probing questions to challenge us in our understanding. Sometimes we may have to make the familiar strange, or the strange familiar. Setting our concern in another set of clothes so we observe it without our personal bias. Spend earnest time in contemplation with scripture. Reflect on the word of God. God often talks to us "between the lines". The manner in which to confirm our decision is good in conformance to God that there be a sense of peace and an absence of disagreement or disturbance. This peace is the affirmation of God's presence. Pray that our choices, our decisions avoid being strongly biased before having been subjected to objectivity and the gathering of all the truth.
The spiritual height of our discernment to understand or know something through the power of the Spirit includes perceiving the true character of people and the source and meaning of spiritual manifestations. This spiritual discernment is based upon faith in engaging every word of God, hearing every word of God, and trusting every word of God. Our discernment is to always be in reflection of our love for God, our love for people, our service to God and others, the wisdom found in reasoning with God, our call to ministering, the fruitfulness of revelation for the understanding of all potential truths. Thus, spiritual discernment is the ability to examine, test, try, judge, or prove something with the result of separating, or distinguishing the good from the bad or the truth from the false. And quiet prayer in the midst of a noisy world is the one absolute essential for faithful discernment. Discernment is required to really know God. We are in a relationship with God, an ever-changing process of learning from Him, understanding His ways, and discovering more and more about Him that we might participate in His purposes. Made able to see a situation clearly to see the truth or falseness behind the words for the purpose of seeking wisdom.
Discernment is a process where human understanding and observation come to God for divine reasoning, in which words or behaviors may be measured against the standard of scripture. There must be an awareness of truth as it is in the word of God. There must be an intuitive awareness of spiritual realities. This awareness springs from the shattered remnants of the image of God that remains within us that confirms our capacity to discern in the human conscience. The one thing that we must remember is the experience in the Garden. That one corruption between good and evil that is engraved on our consciences. The other thing is that God’s law is to be written upon our hearts. It must be God’s agenda that intercedes in our articulation of observances. We must evaluate the validity of what is said in the word of prophecy and the word of knowledge. How do we do this? The understanding of what we seek is to be consistent with the Word of God as well as with His character as revealed in scripture; does it give glory to God or does it give glory to someone or something else; does the Holy Spirit give confirmation of the word to others involved in the reasoning; are there verifiable truths that confirm our understanding, and what manner of fruit is borne from the experience. Discernment is to be a sense of “rightness” in our gut, as opposed to a sense of uneasiness. When a word is given that is truth, scripture affirms it. Not the person, but of the rightness of the word given. The mature exercise of discernment is being willing to listen, allowing words to be spoken, adhering to the proper direction of discovery, and believing what God is saying not by letter but by spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit for interpretation. Listen to hear if the Lord will give the information to one person and the interpretation to another person. Then discern whether these things are from the Holy Spirit and what decision is to be made with them. When the movement is forward and upward, unity will be the result and the rise of spiritual discernment.
God wants us to mature into the fulness of faith: to become the most fully actualized, reflection of Christ. This is our divine calling, and this is what He made us for. This is the being perfect version of ourselves where deep brokenness, fears, selfishness, insecurities, and wounds are identified as “sin”. And for this cause, God’s gift of discernment speaks loudly in our deepest thoughts to shoulder the burden of loving one another to base our choices off of the good desires in our hearts, that what we decide is based on the goodness within us, our strength, hope, generosity, and compassion. We ignore any semblance of pride. In doing so, we grow in self-knowledge, and we can be sure we are hearing God’s call in our lives: that we are becoming our true selves in Christ.
Discernment advantages us to make the right decision for the right reasons. More than that, it gives us confidence to persevere in faithfulness to the commitments we choose for God. As a people of God, we are to work hard to build healthy patterns of living, communicating, and growing together. There should be no lack in the confidence that God has called us together to be a source of strength to witness for His determination...but if the sword of truth cuts, let the division be caused by Christ.
Luke 12:51
Spiritual discernment helps us capture the best of every truth, the best of each of us. It’s a holistic approach to bring us in touch with the true, good, and beautiful desires God has placed deep within us. Listening to our heart, evaluating with our mind, and bringing God into the conversation through prayer helps us to clarify our motivations and desires, gives us confidence in the decisions we choose, and teaches us to be dependably born of the spirit. Repeating its essence - discernment is a decision-making process that honors the place of God's will in our lives. It is an interior search that seeks to align our own will with the will of God in order to learn what God is calling us to. Every choice we make, no matter how small, is an opportunity to align ourselves with God's will.
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