GROWING IN THE SPIRIT OF DISCERNMENT

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi
1 Kings 3:8-9
  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
NIV
The word ‘discern’ is the Hebrew word  ‘ biyn ‘  it means ; to separate mentally (or distinguish), i.e.(generally) understand:
King Solomon had just taken the mantle of leadership from his father King David, he had received the best training academically and knew an academic certificate was not a guarantee for  successful living. Some of the most impoverished countries in the world have some of the highest concentration of highly read individuals, an example is my country Nigeria with the highest concentration of tertiary degree certificate holders in Africa and yet among countries with the lowest living standards despite the abundance of human and natural resources.
   This is proof that academic achievement does not equate to wisdom or the ability to discern properly. This condition is the product of a very faulty spiritual foundation that discourages integrity, hard work (replacing it with night vigils, prayers and fasting) it does not promote innovation and creativity and celebrates mediocrity under the cover of fables and old- wives’ tales. King Solomon wanted to build his leadership upon the foundation of wisdom and understanding of tested and proven principles. His discoveries are well documented in the Book of Proverbs and is still being practiced by Jews the world over. It is the driving force behind the success story of the nation of Israel.
      Discernment is the ability to understand why people behave the way they do and being able to rightly predict the outcome of an action before it is executed. Imagine what will be of your story, if you can rightly predict what will become of a business in real time before you got involved in it, and what will become of a marriage before contracting it, the outcome of an elections before they are carried out, imagine how much resources (human and material) will be saved if you had the spirit of discernment.  Examples in the scriptures includes: David accession to the throne (2 Sam.5:12) The Shunammite woman’s deliverance from bareness (2Kings 4:9) Nehemiah’s deliverance from a false prophet (Neh.6:12) Men of wisdom (Eccl 2:14) Jesus operated in the spirit and could read peoples’ thoughts (luke5:22), you likewise. The Samaritan Woman received deliverance from marital failure (John4:19) Peter received revelation of the equality of humanity before God. The opposite of discernment is spiritual dullness and it comes with poverty and other disastrous consequences, it is easily identifiable by a lack of interest in sound biblical doctrine (Heb.5:11) . Develop your reading ability by taking a fast at least once a week, read devotionals, scriptures and take personal notes.
  If we were convinced beyond every reasonable doubt about the outcome of some of the actions we took in the past before we took them, we would have made better choices and be happier today. The enemy of our souls blinds the eyes of his victims from seeing the consequences of their actions through temporary benefits and honour from peers (2corinthians 4:4) that’s why we need discernment in all that we do.
   Wisdom and success can be learnt (Heb.5:14) likewise foolishness and failure, it depends on the company you keep (Psalm 1 :1-3) The believer in Christ who has received the Holy Spirit is already imbued with the gift of discernment (Isaiah 11:2, 1Cor.2:14, 1 Corinthian 12:8) like a driver using a compass or GPS locating device we should learn to ask for directions while listening to the still small voice within us, until we learn to recognize the voice , this will save us from a lot of disappointments and lead us to the place of breakthroughs, security , peace and overflowing joy .
Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive me of my sins against you, I believe that Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation, I receive Him as lord and savior and receive the Holy Ghost and power with wisdom for creativity, excellence and uncommon advancement in Jesus name.
Prayer /counseling +2348098536911, +2348098536911, email:michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com
Picture credit : pixabay

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