“Delighting in the Will of God - the Foundation of our Life of Discernment”
SERMON Title: Delighting in the will of God - The foundation of our life of discernment
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 40:1-8
Passage (Psalm 40:1-8)
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.Sacrifice and offering you did not desire —
but my ears you have opened — burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come — it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
How do you go about discerning God’s will? Our life is filled with decisions. What are some of the questions you are currently facing? Maybe you’ll relate, but there are often three approaches people take to making decisions:
People who are always discerning but never deciding (“paralyzed”)
People who are always deciding but never discerning (“reactionary”)
People who decide from a place of discernment
Discernment is made from a place of aligning our choices with God’s will. The three components of discernment include:
All the options before you are good choices
It needs to be a choice of some significance
The person has freedom to choose between options
Strategies we may use in periods of discernment:
Weighing the pros and cons
Going with the heart (“gut feeling”)
Testing God
But our default and primary approach we should take in Christian discernment should be prayerful discernment.
Before we can discern God’s will, we need to cultivate a heart that delights in God’s will. When our hearts cannot delight in God and His will, it may be that we have a distorted image about how sovereign God is in many areas of our life. We must seek healing in the distorted image we have of God! Psalm 40:1-7 points to the foundational truths of how Christ works in powerful and faithful ways.
Sermon reflection questions:
What is one thing that stood out to you from the sermon this past Sunday?
Do you seek God’s will in your decision-making? What does this look like for you?
Do you struggle with delighting in God’s will for you? What do you think is stopping your heart from delighting in Him?
