Introduction
Sometimes as we are faced with life decisions, we often pose the question “Why me” or “Is this the right move for me to make?” If we look for one conclusive definition of the word discernment, I don’t think we could find one. So my question is “What is discernment? What is spiritual discernment? According to Kyle (2013), in order to understand where our knowledge comes from, we must look at the term epistemology. Landauer and Rowlands (2001) describes epistemology as how we come to understand all things of the mind. We all have certain beliefs about how God interacts with us, but our lack of understanding can make our foundations of discernment baseless.
Discernment is our ability to differentiate between …show more content…
I had no idea what I wanted to do professionally or what college I wanted to attend. Should I become a teacher? What about majoring in social work? How do I know if I am following God’s plan? These were all questions I asked myself when trying to determine my career of choice. Oftentimes, as I look back on those moments, I now realize I lacked clarity and the proper decision-making skills. More important, I lacked the spiritual guidance I needed from God to help direct my path. Now that I have grown in Christ, his understanding has allowed me to identify we all are placed here for a purpose. For the Lord tells us to be strong and courageous and trust in him with all thy heart. As stated in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5-6, New International Version).
Therefore, my personal approach to spiritual discernment is that of the wisdom and the relationship-formation approach. I believe in the Holy Spirit and using the gifts God has blessed me with. Further, it is the relationship I have with God that has kept me and has allowed me to persevere in the most difficult times of my life. However, when I cannot find the solution to my problem, not only do I pray but I use the Bible as my guide. For God tells us “If any you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5, New International