A few months ago, my family was taking a trip. To be honest, I don't even remember where we were going. During the ride, I was just relaxing, listening to music, and thinking. Somehow, I started thinking about the impact of Google. It's not a website anymore, it's a way of life. It's not only a company, it's a verb. The impact it's had on the way people learn is amazing. We truly are in what the Bible prophesied, the age of information. Need to know how to change your car's oil? Google it. Need to know how to tie a tie? Google it. I don't care what any "old school" educators might say, Google enhances problem solving.
As I sat in the car, I said out loud, "What if we had a question about something before Google existed? What did people do before it?" Within 3 seconds, my mom (who is an elementary principal) gave me an answer much longer than I was interested in hearing. She explained that you could have gone to a library or found an encyclopedia. I accepted the answer, without response. Now it was my dad's turn. Completely serious, he responded to my question with, "Well, I guess you just never knew the answer to the question!" As you can imagine, mom and I about died laughing.
There are a few questions though, that even Google cannot answer. I mean decisions that impact your life in a major way. Google cannot tell you the decision to make in one of life's turning points. This is why discerning God during the seasons of your life is extremely important.
According to dictionary.com, discerning is, "showing good or outstanding judgment and understanding."
In my opinion, discerning is one of the greatest advantages of being a Christian. People throughout the world spend millions trying to find answers to life's questions. Unfortunately, the answers will never be found where they are looking.
“And of the children
of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times -1st Chronicles 12:32
The Sons of Issachar are probably my favorite group in the bible. For personal reasons, I have tried to learn everything about them over the last couple years. There is so much to learn from their way of life.
So how do you "discern" or understand God in your life? I think the first step is prayer. For example, instead of asking a relative for advice, shouldn't you be asking God? Why not ask the Truth for the answer? The greatest aspect of discernment, you can ask God for advice about anything. Do you audibly hear God? I hope you don't. If you do, you're probably on PCP. In all seriousness, you'll know what God is leading you towards. Sometimes you'll find the answer to your question in the bible. You might just walk into a person that will unknowingly be the answer. Maybe you'll have one of life's "amazing God moments!" The moments that make you say, WOW!
A few weeks ago, I had one of the "God moments". Sitting on the beach, I was listening to music and worried about an upcoming situation. As I sat there, I finally just prayed, "God, I need your answer and wisdom in my finances. I need to know what decision to make." The next morning, I woke up to a text from my mom. The text was about the exact situation. She was worried about the same thing. My mom never really says much about this particular topic. That's what gave me complete confidence that God was giving me His answer. From that moment on, I knew the decision that had to be made.
A few weeks later, I sat in my room, in complete amazement of God. Had I not made the decision, it would have been costly for my family. I thought, "There are so many things going on in this world, and You helped me with finances." It was one of the moments in my life that I will never forget.
I truly believe that being able to discern the seasons of your life is extremely important. Let's face it, life is hard. Without being able to lean on God for tough decisions, you will never survive.
I encourage you to read into the Sons of Issachar. Here is the link:
http://www.battleaxe.org/Issachar.html
