Wed Dec 5th - discernment

Twice in the past month or so I realise that I have completely missed something which was obvious to someone else but that I didn't see at all.  The first time I didn't spot that someone I was talking to was really really needing to offload something very important and it wasn't until someone else in the room gave them permission to share that I suddenly realised I'd missed the clues.   The second time was an encounter with a complete stranger who I thought seemed entirely unremarkable.  But the person I was with said after the meeting that they had felt very uncomfortable in that person's company, to the point of almost feeling scared.  Really uneasy.   I was surprised because I hadn't felt anything of the sort.   It turns out I was wrong and they were right.  The stranger had a complex and dark past and was not ' safe' at all.

Normally I would say I'm a reasonably good judge of character, I can read people quite well and am sensitive to peoples moods and demeanours.  But I recognise recently that I have been blind to things that perhaps before I would have picked up on.  I'm not sure why.   Perhaps it is because I'm just not that tuned into the Holy Spirit at the moment.  That is one of the main reasons for writing the blog every year.  Doing this forces me to stop every day and ask God what He is saying.   It makes me keep my eyes and ears open throughout the day to look for the clues and hints as to what the blog might be about.  So perhaps by Christmas Day my ability to discern things might be a bit sharper.

A friend of mine is a very discerning person.   Watching her is really interesting.  She seems to have the ability to see through much of what people are presenting on the surface and dig down to the roots and the reality really quickly.   It isn't because she is particularly empathetic.  And it isn't through words of knowledge or specific prophetic insights.  It is something else and I find it fascinating.   The Bible tells us that spiritual things are spiritually discerned and that we need to be able to make spiritual judgements in order to live as God wants us to live, righteously before Him.

I know that I operate much more from my soul ( my mind, will and emotions) when I'm dealing with people than I do from my spirit.    If I had been the one hearing that my best friend Lazarus was terminally ill, I'd have been haring across the desert to lay hands on him so he wouldn't die.  A soul response.  Jesus, much as He might have longed in His heart to spare His friend the ignominy of death, was ruled by His Spirit.  And His Spirit discerned that God wanted things otherwise.  Not only did Jesus know what God wanted, He had the discipline, will, determination, wisdom, obedience to DO what He wanted too.   Regardless of what it looked like.  The death of a friend. The death of Himself.......

 Despite the fact that I know that I am a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body, I still find it hard to remember sometimes

I think I would like to be much more discerning.  And as discernment is a spiritual gift then I guess if I desire it, and ask for it, God will give it to me in greater measure.  Perhaps you want the same?  maybe we can turn this scripture from Philippians into a prayer

Lord, let my love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that I can discern what is best and so that I can be pure and blameless until the day You return.  May I be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus so that Father God gets all the praise and glory.

Amen