Philippians 1:9-10 This is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.
In my devotion, Embraced by Lysa TerKeurest, she used this verse. I underlined some of her insights that I needed to remember. I would like to share them. “We know what to do. We know what the answer is. But we don’t go with that knowing. We overprocess the what-ifs and the maybes until we find ourselves standing around a corner listening to see if a cardboard box containing a refrigerator might sneeze.’ (Part of the story is she had a box delivered to her house, she hadn’t ordered anything, and she gave into her overactive mind. She ended up kicking the box to see if it would respond, as if someone was hiding inside.). How many times do we overprocess things in order to prepare ourselves for the what-ifs out there?
The next section I underlined is, “Knowledge is wisdom that comes from acquiring truth. Insight is wisdom that comes from living out the truth we acquire. Discernment is wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit’s reminders of that knowledge and insight.” This round robin really got me thinking about the insights of my blog. The discernments I have gotten have come from God in the form of the Holy Spirit. I may not live out the truth daily, but my attempt is do so daily.
Lastly part of the devotion, “It’s not about trusting ourselves. Rather, it’s about trusting the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus promised us in John 14:26; ‘The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.’ When we’ve done what we need to do to acquire the knowledge and insight of truth, then the discernment of that truth is there. We must learn to trust and use that discernment because the more we do this, the more wisdom we acquire to make God-honoring decisions.”
Her questions to ask yourself when making a God-honored decision are simple questions.
1. Have you been reading and praying through God’s Word?
2. Have you been applying God’s Word to your situation?
3. Have you sought godly counsel and insights from wise people who know specifics about your situation?
If you have done these three steps, then you know what you should do or not do. So why is it so hard for us to comprehend that daily. Not just when things are going wrong, but when they are just being somewhere in the middle. I find those are the moments where my prayers are not focused where they should. I may not be including God in my conversations with Him. Quiet time means not just talking to Him, but also listening for Him to talk back.
Have you been focusing too much on the What-ifs and not enough on where He is in the process of your situation? I have. Focus re-shifted, I’m ready for Him to be honored by whatever comes my way.
