Written
by Jean Murphy
Part
1: Beginning with Discernment, W.I.S.E. E.Y.E.S.
For
those of you beginning college or starting a new job,
let me say congratulations to you! There is such excitement
in the anticipation of all the new opportunities,
freedoms, relationships and responsibilities that
your new experience will bring. It would be very wise
that you prepare to stand with your feet firmly planted
in God’s truth, living a life of discernment
rather than making costly mistakes. Actually, all
of us need to be discerning every day of our lives
and we all need to grow in this area.
What
is discernment?
The Greek word for discernment is dokimazo which means
to examine, pay attention to, scrutinize, question,
test and examine in order to understand, prove, recognize,
or gain critical knowledge(1). The dictionary describes
discernment as having the quality of being able to
grasp and comprehend what is obscure and lists synonyms
such as perception, discrimination, penetration and
insight(2). I see it as the ability to see things
as they actually are, not as they appear to be. For
instance, in conversation discernment is having the
ability to understand the meaning of what someone
is saying regardless of the facial expressions or
the words used.
In
the book of Romans, the words “to test and approve”
come from the same Greek word that means to discern.
As we look at the first few verses in Romans 12 the
Lord will reveal us what is needed for us to have
discernment.
“Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to
offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act
of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve (discern) what God's will is — his
good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
If
you are like me, growing in your ability to discern
and recognize God’s hand at work is a sincere
desire of yours, after all the scriptures say that
his will is good, pleasing and perfect. In the Bible
I have found that there are three ways to attain discernment.
First is where Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:6-10
and 12:7-12 that discernment is a gift from God that
comes from His Spirit. The second means is seen in
Philippians 1:9-10 where Paul models praying for the
ability to discern what is best. And finally in Romans
1:1-2 Paul informs us how we can pursue discernment;
this is the pursuit we are going to seek to understand
in the following pages. Romans 12:2 ends with the
phrase, "then you will be able to discern what
God’s will is". To get to “then”
we must first understand “how”.
Using the acronym W.I.S.E. E.Y.E.S. I encourage you
to take a journey with me into developing discernment,
a journey that will enable you to live with wise eyes,
to live with His insight. Using eight letters, you
will need to make eight decisions to act upon what
is written in Romans 12:1-2.
You
must set a godly foundation before you can live a
life of discernment, we can do this by using the letters
in WISE
W.
Worship Jesus as your highest priority. We
start our journey by looking at the verse that comes
before Romans 12:1, to put it into context. Romans
11:36 says, "For from Him (Jesus) and through
Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory
forever! Amen." This verse is beautiful worship
of our Lord, praising Him for all of His works in
creation. Worshiping the Lord and honoring Him is
the groundwork you need in order to have discernment.
As you worship Him for who He is, what He has done,
and what He is doing in your life and the world around
you, your heart changes. As you worship the Lord,
your love for Him will blossom, as will your desire
to honor him through your life. (1 Corinthians 6:20,
Revelations 14:7, 19:7). Ask yourself throughout the
day, "Is my life bringing glory to the Lord?
Is my life reflecting the splendor, beauty, and honor
of the Lord?" By this, you evaluate if your attitude,
actions and words are reflecting the fact that you
are His daughter and He is your Lord and King.
I.
Integrity is to be our standard.
Matthew 22:16 and Mark 12:14 reveals that Jesus was
a "Man of integrity". Jesus' life of integrity
was marked by holiness which is to be our model of
living. Romans 12:1 says that we are to offer our
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God. Ephesians 5:15 helps us understand how we can
live with integrity. The amplified translation says:
“Look
carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and
worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless,
but as wise (sensible, intelligent people. Making
the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity],
because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague
and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and
firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.“
This
verse encourages us to have wise eyes, to examine
situations before we enter into them. If you are about
to enter a situation where you are unsure if you will
be living foolishly, stop and pray for the Lord's
leading so that you remain holy. If there is any question
of sin, use the holding principle which says, never
act until you are sure that what you are about to
do is not sin. (Romans 14:23.)
S.
Saturate your mind with truth. The one and
only true standard of truth in which you can test
and approve (discern) your situations with insight
is the Bible. This is important as many people dangerously
determine truth by the way they feel. Proverbs 14:12
says "There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death." You must make
your decisions based on the truths found in God's
Word rather than your feelings. Romans 8:5-8 states
that you have the choice to either set your mind on
the carnal or the Spirit. If you choose the carnal,
which means your human feelings, it leads to death
and enmity against God. If you choose to set your
mind on the Spirit, which is God's truth, it gives
life and peace and pleases God. To have a Biblical
mind set, you need to start each day reading Scripture
and allowing the Spirit of God to use it to lead your
life. Although we know this is important, there are
times in our lives when we have let this slide and
need to make the wise decision to put discipline back
into our lives. You may benefit from making a commitment
to not drink your coffee or eat breakfast without
your Bible in front of you, praying for the Lord to
use His Word in your life. The Bible is a precious
gift that reveals who God is. It is how we know His
ways, His love, His promises, and His commands. In
addition you can realign your mind with truth by reading
biographies of people of great faith such as Amy Carmichael,
Gladys Aylward, and Hudson Taylor, podcasting Christian
pastors and teachers such as Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and
listening to Christian music. This does not replace
your time in the Word where the Lord will personally
speak to you, but is also valuable in saturating your
mind in truth.
E.
Establish a prayer team. To complete your
foundation, you need to purposefully develop a list
of godly people whom support you through prayer. This
requires humility to reach out to others with this
need. Establishing a prayer team is certainly not
the pattern of this world, but it is necessary to
have a discerning life. In Colossians 4:2, Paul tells
us to "devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful
and thankful. And pray for us…" Paul set
a wise example of asking others for prayer. First
pray for the Lord to bring the names of godly mature
women, women with a reputation of commitment to the
Lord, to your mind. As soon as the Lord brings several
names to your mind, tell them of your desire to have
the support of a prayer team or family. Once your
prayer team is established, you can to put this list
into your email directory as a group and commit to
emailing them with your praises as well as when you
are going through a difficult time. You should also
pray for your prayer team. This may sound surprising,
but you want your team to remain strong and faithful
to Christ and to prayer. They need your prayers and
encouragement as much as you need theirs. Keep communication
open through contact and as you pray for them, you
could send them the specific Bible verses that you
are praying for them and let them know you want them
to send you the verses they are praying over you,
not just to tell you that they are praying for you.
This will encourage them to powerfully pray the truth
of Scripture in your life. In my experience, when
my prayer partners send me the verses they are praying
for me, I discover that the verses they send are exactly
what I need for comfort, direction and encouragement,
revealing God's goodness -- a love letter straight
from Jesus.
A
strong foundation is vital to build anything upon,
especially a life filled with successful, wise and
discerning choices. Come back for part two, “Living
in Discernment”
Part
2: Living In Discernment
Part 3: Thriving
From Discernment
Works
Cited:
1. All Scriptures taken from the NIV
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
2.Merriam-Webster Online. 14 July 2008 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discernment>
3.J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler. Lost Virtue of Happiness
Discovering the disciplines of the Good Life. (Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress, 2006)
4.Jean Porter, Nature as Reason: A Thomistic Theory
of the Natural Law (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005)
141-230
5.NRSV
6.Amplified
7.THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language
© 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
