Train Your Discernment: A Biblical Perspective
By Elizabeth Prata
I was thinking about the difference between wisdom and discernment, since I read Proverbs 4 today. Which is a good set of verses to refer to again and again!
Wisdom is the result of applying knowledge through discernment. There is a difference in knowing things and being able to use the wisdom gained to advance your holiness
Abigail- is a good biblical example of how wisdom gained and applied thru discernment. Abigail was the wife of a brute of a man, that’s the Bible’s description. He was Nabal, a name that means foolish. He kept sheep near Carmel and he wasn’t well liked by anyone, including his servants or his wife. David had asked Nabal for food to feed his men adn Nabal refused. Incensed, David swore to kill Nabal. Abigail pleaded with David, at no small risk to herself, I might add, and her gentleness and discernment, tact and wisdom calmed David. He was impressed. SO impressed, he married Abigail when Nabal died. (1 Samuel 25:1-42; 2 Samuel 3:3).
Hebrews 5:14 reminds us that discernment is a skill and as such, we must train ourselves in it.
Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that discernment is precise. There should be no reply like, ‘well nobody’s perfect’, or ‘eat the meat and spit out the bones’. If we train in discernment, apply it with tact and wisdom, it will do its job to hearts and minds, and in so doing will glorify the Lord.
Romans 12:2 tells us that discernment not only helps us train but it helps us find the will of God, which nothing on this earth is more important.
1 Kings 3:9- Solomon knew there was nothing more important, discernment was the one thing he asked for when given opportunity by God.
Hosea 14:9- discernment allows the God fearer to walk uprightly and it is something that makes the transgressors stumble.
But HOW to ee train in discernment? How do we gain it? As Joseph said to the cupbearer, baker, and Pharoah, it is not in himself, but God delivers wisdom (in Joseph’s case, to interpret dreams, but you get the point). We obtain discernment, according to Sinclair Ferguson at Ligonier, from his article What Is Discernment?
How is such discernment to be obtained? We receive it as did Christ Himself—by the anointing of the Spirit, through our understanding of God’s Word, by our experience of God‘s grace, and by the progressive unfolding to us of the true condition of our own hearts.
You knew I was going to say that, right? That gaining wisdom and applying discernment comes from steady study in God’s word? THAT is where all truth knowledge and beauty lies. Add prayer, a constantly transforming mind, alert to occasions where discernment can be used, then repeat. Just as a boxer trains his footwork repetitively just as a basketball player throws the ball to the basket in practice again and again, so we train in discernment repeatedly.
Discernment is a skill and as the verse in Hebrews 5:14 says, we must train. Have you been to t he spiritual ‘gym’ lately?
Further Resources
What Is Discernment? Ligonier article
God’s Demand for Discernment, 28 min video
What does the Bible say about Discernment? GotQuestions article
