Discernmentਨਮੂਨਾ

Think about it

I nominate this combination of four words for the Best Combination of Four Words Hall of Fame… ‘I’ll think about it’. So versatile! So effective! Buzzing with suspense, promise, patience, and perhaps some profound wisdom. Harnessed as a parental strategic stalling mechanism for the toddler who wants ice cream, but also right at home when uttered down in the valley of grief as you’re asked to deliver the eulogy for a dear friend.

Us humans do a lot of ‘thinking about it’. We don’t often announce it with those hall-of-fame-worthy four words, but most of our waking moments are spent thinking about it. Whatever ‘it’ is, or was, or might be. The right word, the right price, the right person, the right number, the right doctor, the right direction… the right choice.

God knows we’ve got a lot on our minds. He knows most of it doesn’t belong there, and He knows what really does. He gives us the truth, but the enemy likes to rattle us with lies. He knows we’re earnestly, faithfully, awkwardly, stumbling along the narrow path… seeking His good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12). He really knows us, and He really loves us. So what does He do? With grace and kindness, through Word and Spirit, He joins us on the path. Every single step – even those easy ones where we think we know best. To our journey’s spectators it looks like a life of wisdom and discernment, but we know it’s really the Father gently resting His hand on our shoulder as we pause before taking that next step.

‘Look at me,’ He says, smiling. ‘You know what to do.’

Written by JUSTIN KENDALL