Text- Proverbs 16:9 – “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps”
“Your decisions today will determine your destiny tomorrow!” Don’t ever forget this as you go through life. You see, everything you see in your life, and even al around you today is a product of some decisions that were made in time past.
You should also understand that the devil is not afraid of your desires, what scares him are your decisions, and if he cannot pervert your desires, he wants to influence your decisions. You know why? Even the most sincere motives cannot deliver you from the consequences of a wrong decision.
Yesterday, I explained that one key in making the best decisions in life is “Discern before you decide”. The place of discernment in the life of a believer cannot be over-emphasized.
Dr. Roberts Liardon wrote a book in 1997 titled, “Sharpen your discernment”. He said it was his publisher who changed the title of the book; the original title he had intended for the book is “How not to do business with a crook, or marry an idiot”… You see, that’s actually what discernment is all about: Making the best decisions.
Discerning by the Spirit is inevitable in the life of a Christian. Exercising spiritual discernment is like a life-saver in the critical situations of life – in deciding who to marry, whose advice to take, what to do in tough times, who to do business with, etc.
Without discernment, you can make really bad decisions that will endanger the future – Marry the wrong person, listen to wrong counsel, do business with a crook etc. We must therefore take necessary steps pray that God will help us sharpen our discernment.
You can sharpen your discernment by spending more time with the Holy Spirit. Just like it is with anybody, the more time you spend with the Holy Spirit, the better you recognize His voice. Spend at least an hour praying in the Holy Ghost daily.
Another way to sharpen your discernment is learning to wait upon the Lord. You should set time apart to fast at least once a week; you should regularly go on retreats, and you should spend quality time meditating on the word of God, trusting God to give light to the word, and make it come alive to you. Such acts fine-tune your spirit to the ‘frequency’ of heaven.
Finally, obedience sharpens your discernment. When a man violates his conscience time and time again, his conscience begins to gradually wear out, until it becomes completely dead, and he becomes capable of all sorts of evil, but the more you listen to the voice of your conscience, the stronger it becomes. Same is true when it comes to discernment… The more you obey, the sharper it becomes.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to sharpen my discernment, and teach me to discern before I make decisions in Jesus Name. Holy Spirit, come be my guide; prompt my Spirit on what/what not to do per time in Jesus name.
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