Discerning
Today’s Scripture Selection: Proverbs 14:6
“The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.”
Discernment – it’s one the most valuable things we can nurture in order to grow as a person and as a child of God.
I believe it is also one of the things that God loves to give to us – if only we ask for it.
I think of King Solomon – who was wise enough to ask for it – when he could have asked for a million other things. When a young man and a young king, he could have been tempted to ask God for wealth or power – but he asked for wisdom.
God willingly granted that humble request.
And this allowed Solomon, according to tradition, to write the Proverbs in which we find great wisdom today.
Think of some of the things you have craved in the past.
Think of how, when you thought better of it, you have asked for direction from God.
Now think of which request resulted in growth, or contentment, or strength, or hope, or healing.
I bet it was when you asked God for direction – rather than some lesser prize.
So treasure discernment. It will get you out of trouble time and again.
But more than that, it will bring you just that much closer to the heart and mind of God.
And what a gift that is.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for helping me to be discerning, when I need to be, most of all. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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