According the Merriam-Webster dictionary discernment is defined in two ways:
1. The ability to judge well.
2. (in Christian contexts) Perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.
Discernment for me means weighing big decisions with a prayerful heart and open mind. It means that I open to and trusting of God's will in my life. Personally, I believe that discernment is ongoing process. I have discerned religious life, career choices, moving choices, volunteer opportunities, pets, all kinds of things. I don't want to make discernment sound flippant or silly. It is a very serious thing. I am the type of person that tries to approach all decisions seriously and with thought.
I think that being able to discern has a lot to do with self control and knowing that life impacting decisions need time and serious thought to make.
I know that I am guilty of getting caught up in the moment and the excitement of new things or possible outcomes to situations. It is in these moments that it is hardest to step back and take stock of the situation and really listen to what God's plan is for me.
"The ability to see things for what they REALLY are and not for what you WANT them to be." Powerful isn't it?
This truth about discernment is clarifying and it is also terrifying. It means that in order to truly discern something I must abandon the outcomes that I have created in my head (I'm a girl, that's what we do) and I need to give it all to Christ. I then need to prayerfully and openly consider all options, possibilities and God's will. It means that I have to trust His plan. He already knows the outcome. He wrote it before I was in the situation. My job is to pray, listen, and seek Him.
As I put all of this in black and white, the process seems simple. I know from past experience that it is far from easy. Often it is exciting, scary, frustrating, and even heavy at times. This jumble of feelings comes from my humanness. Every once in a while when discerning something, I forget that I have given the matter to God and I try to "hurry up and find the answer because God has bigger things to deal with" (this should be read as, "get what I want/think I need because I think I know best"). When this happens, frustration kicks in. Fear kicks in when I lose focus on discerning God's will and focus on the worry that the outcome will impact me negatively.
I have found that for me, the key to discernment is patience (a continual work in progress for me), prayer, and remembering that God works all things for my good in His own time. His time, not my time. Big difference.
So how do I know when I have an answer to something I am discerning? Well, I have peace over the matter. It is a feeling of joy, quiet and reassuring joy. I don't hear a little voice telling me the answer. I just have peace and joy fill my heart. I can't speak to how other people know they have an answer to something they are discerning. It never hurts to ask, my friends.
I am discerning currently. It is something that I praying almost constantly about. I have to remember that everything is in God's hands and He knows what He is doing. I'm not alone in this discernment, not by a long shot.
I am praying for you and all of your intentions. Will you pray for me?
84,000 Prayers,
~Teresa
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