Discerment or Suspicion?

By Cheri Bunch
Our son walked in the front door and began to walk into the kitchen when I heard the Lord speak. I said to him, “What is that book under your shirt?”

My husband looked up from eating his lunch with a puzzled look on his face. Josh, our son, had on a loose-fitting shirt with a jacket over it. The book hidden beneath was not visible outwardly, but I knew that it was there.

Josh pulled the book from underneath his shirt and handed it to me. “I want to read it, Mom. I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I hid it from you.”

The Lord wanted Josh to know that He can see the hidden things and He can disclose our secrets to others.

The Lord was also teaching me . . . teaching me to trust Him.

It is so easy to slip from discernment into suspicion. Many times I have been suspicious of what the kids were doing, what my husband’s intentions were or even about what my friends were thinking. My suspicious mind can conjure up just about anything!

I have found that it is so much better for everyone that I walk in discernment rather than in suspicion. (It’s also much more peaceful for me and those around me!) I have learned to ask the Lord for discernment and I am learning to trust Him to give it to me.

Discernment is an act of faith. Suspicion is a fruit of fear. Which one have you chosen to walk in?

Take it to prayer, friend. The Lord will equip you for every good work, including the work of discernment.

Ecclesiastes 8:5b “ . . . for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure” (NASV).