Discerning What is Right for You
Recently, a friend reached out to me asking for my thoughts. She had watched a video that stated Christians absolutely should not listen to secular music of any kind and she wanted to know my take on it. Now, some of you may recall about a year ago where my husband and I traveled to Nashville to see my favorite band, Earth, Wind and Fire. I also really enjoyed seeing Anita Baker in concert with hubby last spring. I regularly have salsa and merengue dance parties with my kids in my kitchen. I love music. Not all music, but lots of music, both worship and secular. My response to my friend however, wasn’t in defense of a genre of music or my personal preferences. Instead, I shared what I have learned over time 1) what God calls another Christian to is not always automatically applicable to me and 2) there cannot be anything that I hold so dear that I wouldn’t release it if God asked me to.
There are explicit Biblical guidelines that we are all called to follow and then there are personal instructions that are specifically for us. If we are not able to discern the difference, not only can we wear ourselves out in following the preferences of people we admire and follow but, conversely, we may push our personal agendas on others. Just because you heard God speak something clearly to you does not mean it is for everyone else. So, how do we discern?
We must line up the promptings we receive with the Word. An activity in and of itself may not be sinful, but instead it is how it affects our thoughts, actions and focus away from God. We cannot dismiss what God may be calling us to step away from because it is not “bad”, we must be honest with ourselves and weigh what our engagement in the activity stirs up in us.
We need to strike the fine balance between confidence in our ability to discern God’s voice for ourselves and the humility to receive what God may be speaking to us through someone else. This isn’t always easily apparent but what does help is knowing your Shepherd’s voice via practicing His presence. We need to make hearing straight from God our primary method of learning God.Spend time in prayer not only speaking to Him but in silent listening. Take time to weigh what others share and how God may be speaking to you through it. Maybe what they say confirms something you’ve already been hearing from God. Does God want you to somehow implement it, or set it aside? If you’re already in ongoing communication with God, you’re more likely to discern whether someone’s word is for you.
We need to be willing to be obedient, even when it doesn’t line up with other people’s expectations. God may ask you to surrender something for a season that everyone else looks to be enjoying. Do we want the comfort of assimilation or do we want the move of God in our lives?
It’s easy for us to ask people whether they think something is wrong or right so that we can feel secure about how we proceed. Seeking the wisdom of others has its place but it should not be the primary place. There are plenty of easily identifiable areas of sin. Lying, stealing, coveting, being selfish, the list sadly goes on and on. But there are so many other areas where it’s not a matter of what’s sin or not but a matter of what is best for you, your walk with God and how it impacts those around you. It’s not up to me or anyone else to decide that. God wants you to seek Him for those answers, and then obey, no matter what He reveals.
You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.4 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23
