Practicing Discernment
Do you know how to practice your discernment muscles?
Verse of the Day
‘But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.’
Today’s Devotional
I know that there are many things in this world that I would need to practice in order to have any kind of basic mastery. I’ve never really realized that discernment was something that we needed to practice.
Let’s back up a minute and discuss what it means to practice something. To do this, let me tell you a story. My husband wants to live on a sailboat. Seriously. He wants to sail around the parts of the world that are beautiful and easier to access from the water. He wants to watch sunrises and sunsets from a catamaran. He wants to be able to harness the power of the wind. But there’s a problem. We don’t know how to sail.
We took a vacation several years ago where we lived on a catamaran for 8 days in the Virgin Islands. We helped the captain with some of the sailing chores, like tightening the “lines” (which is what sailors call ropes).
We watch many different YouTube channels of people who live on their sailboats.
We have even signed up and paid for sailing classes- which we had to postpone because we decided to move.
If we ever want to be able to actually go out on a sailboat, we have a lot of work to do. All of this will require a lot of time, training, classes, and PRACTICE. And for a while, the practice will need to be done under the supervision of someone knowledgeable. Then, if and when we get to go out without “supervision”, there will be a long period of time where trial and error will be the norm. We will learn as we experience new things. We will likely get a lot wrong the first time, and we would be wise to ask for guidance from trusted advisors.
Do you see where I am going with this? We need to practice discernment. We need trusted guides around us to help us, people we trust with all the details. We need people we are willing to discuss our failures with so that we can take corrective action.
Today’s verse says that it is the mature people who practice their discernment. They practice. They don’t just talk about discernment. They don’t just watch others seek Godly wisdom in order to decide their actions. They don’t just read about discernment and other spiritual matters. They practice. But what does that mean?
When the verse from today talks about practice in distinguishing good from evil, the experts say that this likely has to do with ideas and opinions of others, since distinguishing acts of good and evil are more apparent.
Either way, we need practice. For me, this looks like taking the time to discern which of my thoughts need to be redirected back to Godly truth. It also includes reading and listening to the teaching of others so that I can practice filtering these things through the lens of the Word and what God is teaching me. I can also practice making decisions based on whichever direction I think the Lord is pointing me. Again, there will be trial and error here, and likely quite a bit of redirection when I get things wrong. This is great. It’s all part of the practice of discernment in how to listen to God and obey His leading.
I’d like to add two more scriptures to the discussion of how we can practice discernment. First, this same chapter in Hebrews also says, “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.” (Hebrews 5:11) How well are we listening? Being dull of hearing is not a problem with the ears, but a problem with the heart. Second, we are reminded of this gem from the first letter to the Corinthian church: “Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.” (1 Corinthians 8:2 ) It’s time we all start getting comfortable with how little we actually know. Especially about spiritual matters. We all need discernment. We need practice to learn how to lean in to God and learn to not only hear His voice but also to obey His leading.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How much do you like to “practice” spiritual disciplines? Which ones are more comfortable? Pick one that is not as comfortable and make a decision to practice this discipline this week.
How can you take a step forward in practicing discernment? Has God invited you to do something that you have yet to do? If so, take a step in that direction. You don’t have to have all the answers before you take one step.
How can you practice listening for God?
How can you practice obedience today?