How do you get discernment?
September 22 - 28, 2024 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Discernment Week 4
We know that wisdom is important, but where on earth do we get it?
It’s a good question. Now that we’ve spent September studying what wisdom and discernment are, it’s time to get practical. Where do get discernment?
Is it like a grocery store where you can walk in and pluck wisdom off a shelf? Is it an online thing where you can look up a picture of wisdom and flash your credit card, and it’ll be delivered in two days?
It’s not that easy. And actually it’s good that it’s not that easy. A hallmark of gaining wisdom is that it takes time. Wisdom and discernment aren’t things you can snap your fingers and suddenly possess. It takes a lifetime.
But don’t be discouraged because wisdom and discernment are things you can start integrating and applying in your life today. You just have to know where to find them. So that’s what we’re going to talk about this week, where to go to get discernment:
Monday - God gives it (1 Corinthians 12:8)
Tuesday - Ask for it (1 Kings 3:9-10)
Wednesday - Observation (1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1)
Thursday - Asking questions (Acts 17:11)
Friday - Life (Proverbs 24:16)
All of these are resources where you can find wisdom and discernment in amounts that you can start applying in your life right away.
It won’t always feel like it makes sense. God’s wisdom doesn’t often jive with the world’s wisdom, but if you can find it in the Scripture, you can trust that it’s true. As with everything, God’s Word is the litmus test we need to use to judge whether a course of action is right or wrong.
The Bible doesn’t change. And neither does our Heavenly Father.
And that leads us to our memory verse for the week. Originally this verse is one I almost featured in the first week, but I wanted to build up to it because it can be controversial if you don’t know God’s heart.
The verse we’re going to memorize this week is Psalm 111:10.
This isn’t the only verse where a statement like this is made, that fearing God is where wisdom begins. I learned this verse when I was very young. It was one of the first verses I learned.
I’m glad for that, because wisdom was something I always wanted. I admired Solomon, even as a child, because he wanted wisdom more than anything else. But as a kid I couldn’t wrap my head around the dichotomy of fearing God.
Because isn’t God supposed to be our friend? Our father? Doesn’t He tell us not to be afraid? So why are we supposed to be afraid here? How can His wisdom have a foundation in fear? Doesn’t that go against everything we know about His love?
As per usual, it’s a translation issue. Some words just don’t exist in English, in spite of how bloated and befuddled my beloved native tongue is. (Seriously, by now you’d think we have a word for everything.)
Imagine that you are sitting in an airport, minding your own business, and suddenly a man sits down next to you, and it is none other than Elon Musk himself. (If you prefer someone else, fine, but Mr. Musk is a good illustrative point.)
No matter how you feel about the man, he is powerful. He has status and wealth and influence. He is recognizable and highly respected and highly controversial, and he has the power and authority to pretty much do whatever he wants.
So are you going to turn to him and tell him you don’t like the sound of his voice? Or are you going to tell him you don’t like his neck ties? Or are you going to point out the flaws in his thinking?
Maybe you would. I wouldn’t. I don’t want to get on the bad side of a man like Elon Musk. I’d much prefer that he thinks I’m okay. Or at least that he doesn’t think I’m rude or ignorant or full of myself.
I’d want him to know that I respect him. Maybe I don’t agree with everything he says and does, but I do respect him for what he’s accomplished in all his many pursuits.
That’s the kind of “fear” the Bible is talking about. It’s not terror. It’s not shrinking away because you are afraid you’ll be hurt. Fearing God is acknowledging His power and authority and might and sovereignty.
Fearing the Lord is understanding that God has the right to do whatever He wants and that He would be completely justified in any choice He makes.
Basically, practically speaking, it’s just taking God at His Word. It’s agreeing with Him about who He says He is.
If you can do that, God says that’s where wisdom starts. That is the beginning of discernment. Start there and build on it.
Thanks for hanging with me this week, guys.
Amy
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