For some time, I prayed that God would grant me the Spirit of Discernment. I was already warned to be careful what I pray for and how I pray, so I thought praying for discernment wouldn’t be too much of an ask.
It was.
I was already sensitive in the spirit, and God had already shown me many things. Yet, as I prayed to see the truth for what it was, suddenly seeing, with clarity, the influence of pride, attention, and appearance began to weigh on me.
I asked: “How could someone call themselves a Christian and yet live so blatantly in sin?” How could people be so fooled by the appearance and not test the fruits?
The Holy Spirit revealed that while the wrong and the right may be shown to me, it wasn’t my place to ‘fix’ it. The Spirit always ensures His will is done, regardless of intent, lifestyle, or secret actions.
The Holy Spirit reminded me of something Paul wrote in the Scripture:
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here to defend the gospel. ¹⁷The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Philippians 1:15-18 ESV
We rejoice in the TRUTH of the Gospel, regardless of intention. God sees the heart, and He deals with the heart. For those who preach for worldly and personal gain, and those who share according to rotten fruit, their consequences will be met. BUT … God’s will be done nevertheless.
In my personal walk with Christ, I pray that my intentions are always aligned with His will, that the truth of the Gospel will be given in love and goodwill.
Signed,
About
Written by R. ‘Nickay’ Headlam
Nickay is a writer and designer who grew up in the British Virgin Islands. Her passion for art, design, and writing grew into a blog, now called The RAVYN Blog, where she writes about her Christian journey, theology, current events, art and design, and fashion.
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