In my last blog post, Sight In The Light, I discussed how the light of God’s Word can give us sight regarding personal discernment. I also mentioned that I will discuss discernment of situations and other people and discerning the mind of Christ in a subsequent post… so here we are!

In this post, I will be focusing primarily on discerning the mind of Christ. This is because I have previously written about discerning situations and other people in this post, But He’s So Handsome.

I would like to explore three areas: Discerning God’s nature, discerning God’s blessings, and discerning God’s will.

Discerning God’s Nature:

Most of us will likely have an idea of who God is, and what He is like. But, how well do we really know Him? And even when we say we know Him, do our actions always line up with this knowledge? If not, why not? Could it be that the voice of our circumstances is louder than the voice of God in our lives? If this is the case, then this illustrates why the light of God’s Word needs to shine in our hearts over and over. Until the truth of God’s nature sinks in deep and permeates our thoughts, day in day out. Until the voice of God is louder than the voice of any circumstances we might be facing. God is our loving Father and He wants us to live in full assurance of that knowledge. 1 John 3:1 (ESV) says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” James 1:17 (ESV) tells us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

The more we read and meditate on the kind of Father He is, as revealed to us in His Word and in the person of Jesus, the more confidence we have in God, in His goodness, His kindness, His generosity, His wisdom, His justice, His mercy. As such, if we truly believe that God is wise and good (Romans 11:33, Colossians 2:2-3, Psalm 136:1), then wouldn’t it make it easier for us to trust and obey Him? If we truly believe that God is a God of Justice (Genesis 18:25, Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 89:14), then why won’t we obey Him when He says, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:18-19, AMP)?

When we really grasp the truth of God as our Father, we start to see our fellow believers as our brothers and sisters in Christ, and this allows us to love them as members of our family, and consequently work towards unity in the Body of Christ as a whole. As 1 Corinthians 8:6 notes, “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

This is why, in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, in exhorting them to stay united, He reminds them (and by extension us), that we all have one Father, God. “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6, NLT). As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water, and in this family, we have the thickest blood of all, the blood of Jesus that was shed for us all, a reminder of the loving, merciful nature of our Father.

Moreover, when we truly understand that He is our Father, we start to comprehend the truth that we are made in His image, created to be like Him, to act like Him. As Ephesians 4:23-24 (CEV) notes, “Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.”

This awareness of our identity as children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords should transform our lives. The knowledge of who our Father is, when wholly understood, will propel us to shy away from evil and embolden us for good. Acts 17:28 (ESV) states, “for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” If we live and exist in goodness, in holiness, in love, then we can’t help but be influenced by our environment.

When we walk in the consciousness of just who our Father is, fear will give way to courage and a deep seated confidence in our Father, the Almighty God. This is how we build our faith, for our faith rises to the level of our revelation of who God is.

As we reflect on this, it would be helpful to ask, in what areas should my understanding of God’s nature, as revealed in His Word, change the way I live, the way I act, the way I relate with others?

Discerning God’s blessings:

I was reading 1 Corinthians 2:14 recently, and the CEV translation struck me. It says “This is why only someone who has God’s Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn’t have God’s Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish.” The Bible talks about these spiritual blessings again in Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) which says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” What then are these spiritual blessings? These are the blessings we have as a result of Christ’s finished work on the cross. They are not physical, which is why they may look foolish to the natural man, and why they need spiritual discernment.

Among these blessings are the truth that we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. As such, our sins have been forgiven, we have been set free, and God sees us as holy and blameless. We are His chosen ones. Not because of anything special we did, but because of His love and grace. “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them his glory.” (Romans 8:29-30, NLT). 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) notes, “but you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.” What glorious blessings!

Despite knowing we have these blessings, have you ever felt like unbelievers have it much better than you? Perhaps because you know people who have no regard for God but seem to be doing well in life, and yet you who loves God so much is struggling? Job could possibly relate to that (Job 21:7 – 15). The Psalmist ponders this as well in Psalm 73. Lazarus might have thought so too (Luke 16:19-31). When this happens, do you feel that they have a better deal than you? It’s hard not to think so sometimes, isn’t it? If we do think this way though, then that is a sign that our physical eyesight is sharper than our spiritual eyesight. As such, the light of God’s Word is needed, so that we may discern and truly grasp the incredible spiritual blessings we have in Christ, priceless blessings which no amount of money can buy.

Recently, a line from the lyrics of a particular song kept replaying over and over in my head “if you (God) do nothing else for me, you have done enough.” The question is, do we really believe this?

I should add that this does not mean that God does not desire to bless us with physical blessings as well, not at all. The question however is, do we truly appreciate the spiritual blessings God has blessed us with? Do we see them as more valuable than physical blessings? If we do, does our value system reflect in how we live our lives?

Furthermore, what other blessings has God blessed us with that we are yet to acknowledge or express gratitude for, because we don’t really acknowledge them as blessings…His wisdom which He generously gives us, His pruning which makes us more like Him, His grace which is always sufficient? I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of our inner man to see things the way He sees them, and to value the things He values.

Discerning God’s Will:

What is God’s will for us? We know that Jesus refers to the people who do the will of God as His family members (Mark 3:35), and promises them eternal life (1 John 2:17). And we know that Jesus also said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” Which means entry into Heaven goes beyond calling Jesus Lord, but actually doing God’s will.

So what exactly is this will? 1 Thessalonians 5:15 – 18 (ESV) tells us “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This is what God wants us to do. The specifics will come when we do these, when we are good to one another, when we rejoice, pray continuously, and cultivate an attitude of gratitude. This is because when we carry out these actions, we are demonstrating great trust in God, and the more we trust Him, the more He can trust us. Will it always be easy? Not at all, but as 1 Peter 3:17 (NIV) tells us, “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

We pray, not to change God’s mind, but to know His mind. Not to align His will to ours, but to align our will to His. Not for Him to take on our vision, but for us to take on His vision. The question then is, how well are we doing all these? We may say we desire to know what God’s specific will is for our lives, but how well are we already doing His will as revealed in His Word? If a child hasn’t learnt to do basic addition and subtraction, would it be wise to teach them algebra? Should a baby who hasn’t learnt to talk be enrolled into a debating club? God is a good Father who desires the best for His children, but He is also a Father who knows what His children can bear at each stage of their journey, and so He will not saddle them with more than they can bear. However, the more we grow and mature, the more He can trust us with, whether that be knowledge or resources.

Continual devotion to the Word of God, Prayer and Fellowship with the Holy Spirit is therefore needed to discern God’s specific will for us. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 (NLT) notes, “But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” Imagine having the privilege of knowing God’s deep secrets! However, just as we won’t reveal our secrets to someone we aren’t close to, or someone we can’t trust to handle them wisely, so God expects intimacy and trustworthiness for us to earn that privilege. The question is, are we ready to do what it takes to be the one God reveals His secrets, His depths to?

I pray that as we reflect on this, we will get to truly know who God is, who we are in Him, and just how much He loves us. May we develop a renewed, never-ending appreciation for the incredible spiritual blessings He has blessed us with. May we continue to do good, rejoice, pray continuously and give thanks in all circumstances, knowing that this is what God wants us to do, as a demonstration of our trust and dependence on Him. I pray that we will also become the kind of people who God can be proud to call His friends. As we do and become thus, may our beloved, all-powerful, all-good, ever-faithful Abba show Himself strong and mighty on our behalf. Amen and Amen.

Image source here.