Something inside me freezes when I hear the word discernment. Whether I’m making a major purchase, giving advice to a friend, or standing in a voting booth feeling as if I’m taking a test I haven’t studied for, discernment is the quality that’s lacking and the thing I long for. We want good things for ourselves and for those we love, but therein is the rub: Do I know what is good? Will I recognize it when I see it? Am I qualified to discern what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful in a world skewed and often unsafe?
Hannah Anderson longed to recover the lost art of discernment as well. In her family life and her career, she craved clarity:
My actions and choices were shaped more by the brokenness around me than the reality of God’s goodness and nearness. When faced with a decision, I played defense: What will keep me safe? What are other people expecting me to do? What will happen if I make a mistake?” (12)
All That’s Good is the record of Anderson’s discovery that discernment, an eye for what’s good, is part of
This is the path away from weather vane living–the dreadful swinging in the wind
Discernment is Inseparable from Virtue
The Apostle Paul was kind enough to provide a written list describing God’s vision of virtue:
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Focused on God’s character–not with a microscope and a probe, but with a telescope that brings into focus God’s vast goodness–we become like what we behold.
Contemporary Culture Undermines Discernment
Research is my default, so when I’ve got a question, the facts pile high in my head. How enlightening in this digital age of Google to affirm the difference between information and knowledge, between data and wisdom. My skill in discernment is more about who I am than what I know. All the image management and groupthink social media fuels and fosters actually get in the way of my ability to discern what is good and to navigate the real world with confidence and hope.
We Become Discerning in Community
Even the Apostle Paul needed re-direction at times. God’s sovereignty is not thwarted for one minute by my wrong choices, and often he will use the voice of a brother or sister in Christ to offer the redirection that is needed. It is in the life-on-life of sharing our opinions and finding that we have reached different conclusions–but responding in love anyway–that we discover discernment as a generosity of spirit, a quality that allows for sacrifice and unity “because we are in relationship with each another, not in order to stay in relationship with each other.” (179)
As individuals and as a body, we are invited to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” As we behold what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable, and as we strive to become more fully aware of the difference between what is good and what is better, we are embarking upon the transformation process that leads to discernment and finding that it’s not a lost art after all.
Many thanks to Moody Publishers for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
Grateful for all that’s good,
Photo by Anthony Ievlev on Unsplash
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Michele,
I feel like, as I’ve gotten older, that perhaps I’ve gotten a tad wiser?? When asked Why? I would have to say that discernment comes from MANY years of meditating on God’s Holy Word. Some verses I’ve read hundreds of times and each time they hold different nuances of truth. I do believe, as well, that iron sharpens iron and so being in community with other believers adds to our ability to discern.
Blessings,
Bev xx
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Yes, we do need each other!
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Discernment can feel and sound so complicated, like it’s some higher level of spiritual living. But God wants each of us to have discernment. I love how approachable Anderson makes this concept!
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It does sound heavy, doesn’t it?
The truth is that it’s as simple as the way I choose to use the next 15 minutes of my life.
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Discernment is something that I hope I am better at as I get older. I know that when I look to God in the process I make better choices. I’m glad to know it is not a lost art.
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Me, too, Mary, and I think some of my difficulty with discernment is that I try to make it into a science instead.
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Discernment is personal. You may feel uncomfortable around someone and I don’t. You may be in danger and I’m safe. Purchases: I buy my eyeglasses locally knowing I can get them for a fraction of the cost online. But my children grew up with the children of the 3 families this office supports. Advice: A Bible verse. I google a phrase to get the reference. Voting: I get a copy of the ballot to google those I don’t know and ask my family about local people. Each decision is personal. What’s good for me may not be good for you.
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Absolutely true, and that’s the beauty of living in Truth seasoned with Grace. My favorite example of this is biblical: Ezra traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem and when the king offered him a military escort for protection, he refused that the glory of God might be put on display. Nehemiah made the same trip and received the same offer and accepted–that the glory of God might be put on display.
We set up black and white answers to our own peril.
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I love that! God has a plan for each of us. He leads us according to His plan. We all have the same goal – to display the Glory of God.
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Amen!
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I have been praying for discernment on a daily basis, because I need it daily, since my children were young. This looks like a book I would enjoy reading. Wonderful review and thank you for sharing about this one!
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Yes, parenting and (now grandparenting) shows us how much we need wisdom from above!
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Discernment is definitely a virtue and a skill greatly needed. In big things and on small things. We’re currently deciding on whether or not to buy a new kitchen table, a relatively tiny decision in the grand scope of life. But even in that, I pray for discernment to not waste money frivolously. Thanks for sharing about this book, Michele!
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This is truth that I need to have soaking all the way to my bones.
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I’ve seen this book but haven’t gotten it–I have another of hers about humility that I haven’t read yet.
This is such an important topic, but one that’s not often talked or taught or written about.
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I loved her other book as well–and her voice and handling of Scripture are both so lovely.
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Oh, I love that last quote (from p. 179) you shared about cultivating a generosity of spirit in our relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ–“a quality that allows for sacrifice and unity ‘because we are in relationship with each another, not in order to stay in relationship with each other.’” AMEN to that. We will never agree on everything with every believer. But we can still love one another just the same!
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Yes! It’s worth the hard work and the vulnerability!
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I love the topic of discernment. It was one of the first things I noticed God had planted in me when I began my walk with Him. I like to think of it as wisdom but no…its discernment. I’m not that wise 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful post and thank you for linking up @worthbeyondrubies
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Planted.
That’s such a great description of the work of God in a life.
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discernment is important and it really needs to be exercised often and used correctly. thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for reading, Jiselle!
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This sounds like a book I need to read. I have been wanting to learn more about discernment and to continue to grow in being discerning. I get bogged down with my own thoughts and ideas about things and then miss what the Lord is showing me or teaching me. Thanks for sharing this!
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Yes, that’s my shortcoming as well: failing to separate all the strands of though tangled in my brain, and fearing that I have mistaken my own voice for the voice of God.
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I consider myself discerning. Maybe it comes with age? I believe sometimes we stand knocking at a door that is already, open out of fear – faith would walk in and discern the environment. SS
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I think confidence and faith go hand in hand.
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Like you, I like to research things. I also tend to think through all of the pros and cons of a given choice. The difficulty with this is that the right course of action doesn’t always “make sense.” This is where faith comes in! This sounds like a book I’d benefit from.
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Yes, those pro/con charts never help me that much. For me, the real challenge is in patiently waiting for the course of action to become clear.
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My husband totally has the spirit of discernment. He has said things about people after meeting them for 5 minutes that inevitably, comes true. I have come to just trust his judgement in so much.
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It’s certainly a gift. It’s good that you recognize it.
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What did we ever do before Google? I am a researcher too. Discernment is something I need to think about. We have so many more choices today than ever before. It does cloud the mind sometimes. I loved this sentence: “Focused on God’s character–not with a microscope and a probe, but with a telescope that brings into focus God’s vast goodness–we become like what we behold.” So true and so good!
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Yes, we don’t need to make him bigger, but we do need to pull in the vastness, to hold it close, and to try to understand.
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This sounds like an amazing book. I am always praying for discernment in so many areas of my life. I most recently have dug deeper into just this in my prayer life.
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Me, too, and it’s high time!
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Thank you for making me think today, deeper than usual 🙂 Who am I to determine what is good? I often think I know, but do I really. Thank you for linking this up today.
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Thank YOU, Michelle!
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I feel like discernment definitely comes with learning to truly listen to the Lord… letting the Holy Spirit guide and teach me everyday and in every thing.
I know that my own sense of judgement and discernment is faulty at best… man can so easily be swayed by the thoughts and opinions of others… but the Lord is perfect and all-knowing and will guide us into all truth 🙂
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Beautiful!
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Thank you!
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When I first started reading I wasn’t sure if discernment was showing in my life. Having read your post I can say that discernment is always there in the background driving me to the decisions I make. Visiting from #bloggerspitstop
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It’s great that you were able to come to that conclusion. Thanks for reading!
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I’ve never really thought about discernment in this way before. I’ve always associated it with discerning spiritual truths. But this book sounds fascinating. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
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I really appreciated her emphasis on Paul’s list of virtues in Philippians.
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Thank you for sharing at #ThursdayFavoriteThings. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too!
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This sounds like a fresh take on an idea that so many people have forgotten about – discernment is something I definitely don’t practice enough of. #GlobalBlogging
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It’s always a struggle for me, Heather, and I guess we tend to write about the things we’re working on the most.
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