Mission Venture Ministries

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) 

Discernment is the ability to make sound judgments by perceiving what is not readily obvious but critical to our Christian life. Discernment is necessary to understand spiritual truth, live as God intends, avoid life’s pitfalls and dangers, and properly live every day of our life. 

For example, what should you do when you want to follow the Lord but have multiple choices that appear promising and good? How can you know if you’re hearing from God or simply listening to your own desires? 

In Proverbs we read: “If you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding,” (Proverbs 2:3-6). These verses are a clear promise from God that when we ask for insight, He will answer. 

To the Christians in Rome (Romans 12), Paul is urging them to respond to God’s mercy, His forgiveness of our sin, and His inclusion of us in His family. The appropriate reaction would be offering to Him our entire lives as a form of living sacrifice.

Next, Paul writes that we must no longer be conformed to the world. The word “world” is often used in the New Testament to refer to the “world system,” or the way that every human being lives by default. John described this worldly way of living as “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

Paul tells us to abandon the pursuit for pleasure, possessions, and status and to stop living like everyone else. Instead, he urges us to be transformed from the inside out. Specifically, he writes that we must be changed in how we think, to have our minds renewed so that we can begin to understand God’s will for our lives.

God may continue to provide us with pleasure, possessions, and status in various forms, but he urges us to learn how to look at life with a new question: What does God want for me? What is truly a good, acceptable, and perfect use of my life for His purposes and not just for my own? 

Though discernment doesn’t appear overnight, it does develop when we “search for her as for hidden treasures” (Proverbs 2:4). So don’t wait until you’re facing a critical decision, start asking the Lord for His wisdom today. We need time to practice this kind of humility so we’ll learn to hear His voice among the noises of life. And in the meantime, rest assured that no matter what decision you make, God will be with you (Psalm 139:7-12). 

Remember that when we view God’s insight as a precious treasure, He reveals all we need to know. Gaining discernment or sound judgment involves trusting in the Lord, not depending on our own understanding, and seeking God’s will (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

So how do we obtain biblical discernment? 

• Believers receive discernment by reading and meditating on the Word of God and through the renewal of the mind.
• The Bible teaches believers to seek discernment in order to grow in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of spiritual truth. 

In conclusion, discernment is the ability to think biblically about all areas of life and is indispensable to an uncompromising life. It is important for the Christian to take hold of the discernment that God has provided for him in His precious truth, because, without it, Christians are at risk of being “tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). 

Therefore let us pray as Paul did for the Philippians: That your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ (Philippians 1:9-10). 

*******