“My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands, turning your ear to wisdom, inclining your heart to understanding; Yes, if you call for intelligence, and to understanding raise your voice; If you seek her like silver, and like hidden treasures search her out, then will you understand the fear of the LORD; the knowledge of God you will find;” Proverbs 2:1-5
Ever feel like your life is like a game of Twister? It’s twisted in this direction and that direction – your mind on green and your feet crisscrossed on red and blue, while one hand is behind your back and the other moving forward? Do you most often feel like this when you are not looking to God for discernment and help?
It may seem easy to spin the arrow in life and land on a color and then another and 
before you know it, you find yourself in a mangle that leads to off balance and a tumble. On the opposing side, if you take a few minutes to pray asking for wisdom and understanding, you may just find that your mind, hands and feet are all in alignment.
Over the years, I’ve been learning a lot about discernment, trusting and conforming to God’s will through the wisdom of others more seasoned in their faith and through reading books that just seem to fall into my lap. It’s definitely been a slow process. I feel like I’m still in the elementary school of discernment, with a graduation date that is beyond my horizon and into eternity.
When I first began reading about discernment, I thought some giant NEON sign would just appear to me telling me what to do. WRONG! Now, I am beginning to realize that discernment has a lot to do with being present and observing things around me, the encounter of God through all things. As I move through this journey of discernment, I’ve begun to pay more attention.
Often the things I read speak directly to what God is wanting me to do or see in a particular situation. When I need to work on forgiveness and relationships, everything I seem to get my hand on talks about forgiveness and my own faults. When I am worried and full of anxieties, I pick up devotions or read random verses on peace, rest and God’s will.
I also see things around me that cause me to ponder and connect my circumstance and God’s guidance. When I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders and feel I can’t carry it no longer, I notice an ant carrying something that is 20-100 times it’s weight and realize the strength of God carrying the weight on my shoulders. When I am troubled, I see a cross displayed before my eyes and I’m reminded of the peace and rest found in Christ.
When I am in tune to hearing God, listening to others, songs or peace around tend to guide me to think more and seek more understanding. Often when I am seeking wisdom and guidance, I hear lyrics to a song so much clearer. If I’m afraid, they tell me that “fear is a liar”. When I need strength I’m reminded that “I am a warrior”. When I need to trust, I hear “thy will be done”. When I am not including God I hear He “will always be the king of the world”.
Most recently, I was experiencing difficulties in my relationship with my daughter. I prayed for direction and also for God’s will in our relationship and in both our hearts. Each day, there was something subtle that popped up pointing me in the direction in which God wanted me to handle the situation with my daughter. I conformed to this and today I feel that we have repaired a part of our relationship I felt was breaking. Prior to asking God, I was spinning and the colors I was landing on were not coming out the way I had hoped. I found myself knotted like a strand of Christmas lights that had been in storage for a while. Not a place you want to be in a key relationship in your life. Something had to change, I had to seek guidance and let God spin for me and guide me in accordance with His will.
THE MOST VALUABLE LESSON I’m learning is that my self compass is not better than God’s. When I pray for His will to be done, I am not disappointed in the outcome. When I don’t, I find myself wondering where God is and when He will answer my prayers.
When you take time to pray, asking God to spin the spinner for you, you will be less tangled, less unstable by the mangle of spinning the arrow and listening to your own selfish guidance. Give it a shot and just may be your feet and your hands will line up and not be twisted this way and that way.
