I have a Ragdoll cat that entertains me continually. She has a little OCD and came with separation anxiety disorder! She has lived here for ten years. When Ralph didn’t come back, she waited and waited for him, listening at the door, every night for weeks! Then, instead of making the adjustment, she licked until she had a bald spot on her neck! She is a prolific hunter and goes into high alert, instantly! She is able to discern the intention of her prey by evaluating every tiny sound or movement.
I recently had a young girl tell me she had the gift of discernment. As I thought about the requirement to be alert to the needs of people, as well as the need when making important decisions, I started jotting down thoughts on how does this all play out in real life?
We are to exercise our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, hands, mind and heart in sensing what is clean and unclean for us. We are called to choose wisely, so as to maintain a “walk in holiness”. (I Thess. 4: 7) No hidden or unconfessed sin and no unresolved relationship is a good test for checking how clean our heart is.
When God told Solomon to ask for anything he wanted, Solomon asked for discernment. Discernment is the ability to see the hand of God in every circumstance and to understand His intentions; distinguishing between what is good and what is evil, in order to make a wise decision.
One who discerns examines his own life. One who judges overlooks similar fault in himself. One who discerns checks out all the facts. One who judges forms opinions and then looks for supporting evidence. One who discerns deals privately with another person’s failures. One who judges condemns without discretion.
“Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never to faut-finding”. Oswald Chambers Discernment will observe patterns; judgement will nit-pick. Observation becomes judgement when there is no desire to provide a solution. It takes compassion and time to be discerning and only “a minute” to be destructive and judgmental…
Take a check: Which are you,
Judgmental or Discerning?
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
