The keystone of discernment is abiding— surrendering to God’s love so that he may fill every space of our lives. This is the power of Christ in us. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) It is not an automatic transformation, rather it reshapes us moment by moment in friendship with Jesus. There is no prescribed time frame.
Within this beloved friendship there may be guideposts or even “a-ha” moments that awaken us to God’s intentions. Discernment is not one dimensional. As we relinquish our willfulness into God’s formative hands a foundation of trust and reliance is laid. Grounded in the assurance that God won’t fail us and that he ultimately desires us to walk in his ways, we will find He uses various creative ways to help us discern and walk in faith. Again, I am on this journey with you in discernment. I am no expert, I’ve simply been practicing letting go and asking God to show me how he helps his Church know him, pursue him, and entrust their path to fulfillment of his Kingdom.
For the next few weeks, I’d like to reflect on aspects of discernment that have come to my attention. It’s not an exhaustive list, but I’d like to wander and wonder through each one and consider how God uses them to illuminate our path, increase our love for him, heal our brokenness, give us confidence that as we abide in him daily he will accomplish his will in us, and give us a discerning spirit that transforms us to reflect his image.
In some way, I believe these areas can enrich our understanding of discernment as we draw near to God’s heart. I encourage you to begin thinking through the ways you’ve viewed discernment and consider what you’ve learned in the past and where you’d like to see growth/change. Here are the areas that have risen to the surface for me:
Remembering; story-telling
The Bible; is it a guidebook with all the answers?
Decision-making; is it just about knowing right from wrong?
How do we know it’s God’s voice speaking and not that of another?
Discerning calling, purpose, spiritual gifts
Meditation; including aspects of prayer
Spiritual practices
The involvement of the Holy Spirit
The Potter and the Clay
Before leaping into these means of discernment, I’d like to leave us with an image.
The Bible is full of images, parables, scenarios, and stories that guide our imagination toward God’s truths in practical ways so as to spark understanding. There is one image in particular that I’ve always been drawn to because it enables me to visualize the truly tender, patient role God plays in our transformation. It is that of the potter and the clay. There are several instances where God likens himself as the potter; the craftsmen, and us as the clay; the masterpiece (Isaiah 64: 8), and I’d like you to envision yourself in that scenario before continuing in this discernment journey.
For those who’ve ever used a pottery wheel, you know how finicky the process can be, especially for us amateurs. The delicacy of the process gives you a respect for the resulting artistic expression. If you’ve never touched clay, bear with me in this exercise and try to imagine.
At any point, from the moment the ball of clay hits the wheel to the kiln, anything could go wrong. What I want us to consider with this imagery is the process. Imagine yourself as the clay. When we first come to God our hearts are stiff, untrusting, and a bit lumpy, but after God scoops us into his hands he begins a gentle process of softening us. It is slow, relaxing, peaceful and every bit intentional. We may still be unformed, but a gentle work is being accomplished as we rest in his hands. Then as we mature or become moldable for growth, we laze into his formation. In this state, we begin to feel pressure on us forcing movement; the sculpting stage. The pressing in of his thumbs and fingers builds our initial frame. This embracing pressure may produce pain as his hand squeeze and squish the unnecessary parts of us off. As the excess slips off to the side, we notice he’s shaping something worthy.
Who knows what we will become, but we know something magical is taking shape. But then we get too comfortable or stuck and in the process causing a blunder so the potter can’t continue. Setbacks often happen in our spiritual journey. Our willfulness or comfort can cause his finger to catch in the clay making a puncture in the side. Suddenly our magnificent shape slumps and falls over as the wheel continues to spin. We topple upon ourselves, a blob of disappointment and shame. As low as we feel, the potter is not discouraged. He is patient and persistent in his mission. We see this image in Jeremiah 18. Though the pot becomes marred in his hands, he forms it still into another, “shaping it as seemed best to him.” He will continue this process as many times as we need, as long as we remain on the wheel in the palms of his redemptive hands.
In the fire of the kiln, we still have the potential to explode or be crushed. This may feel like the potter’s discipline in our life, but he does so because he knows the heat will firm up our new shape. Out of love, he puts us through the fire to be made strong, useful and enduring. (Hebrews 12:5-12)
The beauty of this imagery reminds me of the discernment process–it is ongoing, gentle in its nuances, and even if we get stuck in the process God still picks us up and forms us into what is best. In the end, discerning doesn’t come easy, it is demanding of us. To discern God’s heart we must remain on the wheel and supple toward his transformation process; willing to face the fire. Abiding is letting yourself be that lump of clay on the wheel that will be lovingly softened, molded and shaped to fulfill a good purpose. In the formation process we let God do the work while we relax into his handiwork. We do not control discernment, we relinquish ourselves to its shaping of us through Christ in us. Spiritual practices and types of discernment are more like tools or techniques that the potter uses to uniquely design us for Kingdom glory. Ultimately it is God’s creative, restorative power that transforms us, disciplines us and thus illuminates from our ordinary lives in extraordinary ways.
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.
2 Corinthians 4: 7-8 (The Message)
I hope you have found a Lenten practice to encourage you toward abiding with Christ toward discernment. If you are still wondering what might help, don’t hesitate to message me below. If you do have a discernment story to share, please let me know. Thank you for intentionally wandering with me.
