If God were
to offer you the opportunity to ask anything of Him and He would grant it, what
would your request be? The Lord Himself offered the same to King Solomon,
who the Bible called the “wisest man in the world”. Solomon did something which
most human beings would never do, but should. He asked for “BIYN” – the
original word for “discernment”.
When
you think of all that people would ask for in today’s world: a million dollars;
a new car; a house by the beach etc. etc….to ask for the ability to discern
would be the last thing people in the 21st century would ask for.
Yet as we mature as Christians, it is indeed the perfect request. The general dictionary definition of Discernment is basically this: insight based on an acute sense of judgment and understanding. The
Christian definition of discernment is a little more involved. It is the
ability to not just THINK biblically, but to understand what the Scriptures are
saying and apply it to daily life.
We pray for
Wisdom and acquire it from God through His Spirit,
Study of His Word and Prayer. The ability to take this wisdom and apply it with
a certain degree of effectiveness, is discernment. Godly Discernment can only
come from an intentional daily walk and pressing in to the Source of all
Goodness, Power and Wisdom – Almighty God! It comes from practicing in our
bodies and lives what 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 instructs us to do: “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from
every form of evil”.
This means:
- - Test all things: i.e.
using all our God-given wisdom, tested by experience, prayer and the Bible, to
discern what is true and what is of God, when faced with a live situation or
circumstance.
- - Hold fast what is good: i.e.
once you and I have discerned the right course after testing all things,
we hold on to it. We camp there. We stay the course in the righteousness of
Christ.
- - Abstain from every form of evil: i.e. this then becomes easy, because
our holding fast to righteousness after solid discernment warns us off evil
temptation and tight spots…and thus, all evil.
What an
amazing thing God has done for us! He graciously imparts His Wisdom in any size
dose as we can handle then as we pray through this wisdom and worship Him and
ask, He gives us His “biyn” – discernment to “work out our salvation”, thereby
living the wonderful Christian life to maximum effect!
Father,
we thank You are a good, good Father Who gives good things to all who ask
with a repentant and clean heart. We know Your Wonderful Eyes travel to and fro
across the entire earth in search of those same hearts who are loyal to You.
We pray right now that You search our hearts and cleanse us from all
impurity that we may be found worthy to receive Your Holy Wisdom, the Oracles
of Heaven which represent such an amazing benefit of belonging to You and the
Kingdom of Heaven. Thank You for drawing us even closer that we may come into
our own, discerning the times and the trials and tribulations that we may make
decisions based on Godly principles, attitudes and applications completely
reliant on Your Amazing Attributes, dear Heavenly Father. We are most grateful
above all, for the Cross of Christ which has enabled us to be reconciled to
You, so that any of this could even happen in the first place! Thank You, oh
God, thank You to the highest and most glorious praise, in the Name of the One
Who gave it all that we may be free to serve You – the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
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