Lessons in Discernment Part 1

I had a dream recently I was teaching on lessons in discernment. As I was speaking I spoke about the blind spots we can have in our discernment. Since then God has unveiled some truths and lessons to me:

Desire dulls discernment

Sometimes what we want gets in the way of what we’re discerning. For example the desire for connection, relationship or mothering/ fathering. The desire to be or do something. The desire to move past delay. It’s not that desire is ungodly, it just needs to be yielded. When we choose what is in our will over what is in the Father’s, our discernment can begin to dull. In doing that we can ignore the reality of what God is showing us because of what we want to keep. Our will can be a powerful thing so we need to yield it to the Lord.

Don’t ignore what you’re discerning. Don’t give up what you want most for what you think you need now.

Busyness distracts discernment

Sometimes we’re moving at such a rapid speed we don’t ever slow down enough to weigh and test. When we are too busy and caught up in a hurried way, we can miss things as we zoom right past them. We put on the blinkers and miss what is in our peripheries. I’ve found it’s here God is often speaking. Slow down to hear him speak, to weigh and test and measure by the word. Don’t be so hurried that you are distracted from discerning.

Gossip distorts discernment

Gossip is a poison that distorts our lens. Listening to and entertaining gossip can cause a distortion in the way we see others. Gossiping about others can also cause us to sit in judgement and distort our own lens. Proverbs speaks about this: “A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.” Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭28‬ ‭

Don’t entertain even the whispers of the enemy. Gossipy destroys, discernment protects.