Wow! God is amazing! Our Wed. night class was lengthy due to the topic “Going and growing through the hurts.” I grabbed the tin of words with little time left in the class and asked someone to pick out the word, she did and read the small piece of paper. DISCERNMENT. We all sighed/moaned collectively, what a deep word.
It was Sunday before I sat down with the word discernment and next week’s lesson, “Put on the Armor.” It’s obvious God chose the word for the week. I read the lesson and searched and read about discernment in the bible. Eph 6:10-18 is about putting on the full armor of God. Eph 6:13 & 14 have had special meaning to me for years. When you have stood firm. Stand firm. To me it means when you think you’re prepared, begin preparing.
Discernment means: to have keen insight, good sound judgment.
We must be able to discern good from evil. A discerning heart seeks knowledge. With the Knowledge of God’s word and fully dressed in God’s armor we can be prepared. But, it’s easier said than done. I recently sat in a workshop on Infant Mental Health for work. The presenter kept saying “you must know what you stand for.” She instructed us to turn to the person sitting next to us and tell them the #1 thing we stand for. I knew my answer, but I was suddenly nervous. I knew that I was at a professional workshop. I turned to the person on my right and said “My faith, I stand for Jesus” she told me what she stood for and I felt relieved and a terrible since of guilt. It shouldn’t have been so hard to pronounce my faith publicly. My faith means everything to me. I soothed myself by saying “yes, but you did it, you were prepared, you stood firm (wimpy). Just then the presenter took her microphone and began walking though the packed room. She held the microphone in front of a person asking them what they stood for. She continued to point and ask. I shrunk in my seat, with my head turned away and down. I kept telling myself if she puts the microphone in my face I will say “Jesus, I stand for Jesus, I must say I stand for Jesus.” But my body language was crying out “don’t pick me, please don’t ask me.” I had stood firm, but I was sinking fast. I thought of Peter. I thought of how prepared I thought I was to give an answer. Then I heard a gentleman speak the words into the microphone “I stand for Jesus” He was prepared to give an answer.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
I felt horrible, “what was wrong with me?” Before this moment I would have told you with great confidence that if I was ever asked what I stood for I would jump up and confidently state “I stand for Jesus.” All my keen insight and good sound judgment was failing me. Why, because in my haste to prepare, I had failed to prepare. We must daily put on the full armor, and when we think we are prepared we must begin to prepare. The enemy is out there and he is prepared. Without discernment and knowledge of God’s word and daily putting on God’s full armor, when asked without warning what we stand for we might surprise ourselves by realizing we weren’t as prepared as we thought we were.
Kyra read the book “She said, Yes” about the girl at the Columbine High School. One of the gunmen held a gun at her head and asked her if she believed in God. She answered “Yes” and was killed. Kyra felt proud that a teenager would stand for their faith and be willing to die for their faith. She said Yes because she was prepared.
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