The blog tour for The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment continues today with a visit to Jollyblogger. If my memory serves me well (never something I can take for granted), Jollyblogger is one of the first blogs I began to read on a regular basis. David Wayne, a pastor in Maryland, doesn’t blog quite often enough, but when he does, his articles and reflections are always worth reading.

Reflecting his vocation, David asked the following:

In our denomination we ask those seeking to join our church to take five vows, the last of which reads:

Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?

As discernment is a discipline most often associated with protecting the purity of the church, how might this discipline be used to protect the peace of the church? Along with that it might be helpful to note whether you see peace as a subordinate attribute to purity, and therefore contingent on purity, or vice versa, or whether you see these as separate attributes which are equal in importance, or if the two have some other type of relationship I haven't thought of.

Read my answer here

Here is a list of the tour stops from last week and those still to come:

This morning I continue with The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment blog tour by answering a question at Gender Blog, the official blog of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The question is one that is important, interesting and, I found, quite difficult to answer adequately and sensitively. Here is what they asked:

It is not an uncommon experience reported by female pastors today that they believe they have received an actual call from God to become a pastor. Here are two recent examples from the newspaper:

• Jacci is not a rebel. She didn’t want to break new ground for those “crazy feminists.” She only wanted to follow God’s leading. After much study and soul-searching, Jacci’s thoughts became clear during a college trip to the Holy Land. “It was a call,” she stated. “It was quite amazing. I turned to a friend and said - I think God is calling me to be a minister. I was waiting for God to strike me dead. It was a huge shift in my thinking. That was not in the realm of possibility for my life the way I had grown up and had been taught.”

• There was no writing in the sky, no voice from heaven. “I would have loved that,” said the Reverend Keri, “but that doesn’t happen. At least, it didn’t happen to me.” Nevertheless a bolt of some sort caused Pastor Keri to suddenly quit her job and go to seminary. She is now the new shepherdess of a 266 member church..

How would you help a woman discern whether or not she is receiving an actual “call from God” to become a church pastor?

Read my answer here

The tour will go on a weekend hiatus before continuing next Monday with visits to Jollyblogger, Justin Taylor, the Pyromaniacs, the Internet Monk and 9 Marks Ministries. And the questions just keep getting tougher! Here is the schedule:

Today The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment blog tour moves to Adrian Warnock’s blog. In case you've missed it on previous days, the tour works like this: the owner of another blog poses a question about discernment and my answer is posted on his or her blog on an appointed day. I follow the comments made on the blog, addressing them as they arise. It has become, I hope, a chance to facilitate a productive and God-glorifying conversation about the issue of discernment through a series of exchanges with others. It allows me to attempt to address questions other people may have about discernment and potentially to address questions that are of particular importance to readers of other blogs. This is an unexpected stop on the tour as there was somehow a mix-up and we had to adapt on the fly. So thanks to Adrian for stepping in.

Today I answer a question that seems to come up whenever I discuss this topic and in just about every interview I’ve done recently: Isn’t spiritual discernment a gift of the Holy Spirit?

Read my answer here

Here is where the tour will go tomorrow and next week:

Today The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment blog tour moves to The A-Team Blog. In case you’ve missed it on previous days, the tour works like this: the owner of another blog poses a question about discernment and my answer is posted on his or her blog on an appointed day. I follow the comments made on the blog, addressing them as they arise. It has become, I hope, a chance to facilitate a productive and God-glorifying conversation about the issue of discernment through a series of exchanges with others. It allows me to attempt to address questions other people may have about discernment and potentially to address questions that are of particular importance to readers of other blogs.

Here is what Amy of the A-Team asked:

Which aspect of contemporary Western culture do you think most hinders us (Christians shaped by this culture) from developing the skill of discerning the truth about God and His will? Which aspect of Western Christian culture? What practical steps can we take in our own lives to help us resist these particular cultural influences?

Read my answer here

Here is where to tour will go in the coming days:

Today marks the second day of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment Blog Tour. The tour works like this: the owner of another blog will pose a question about discernment and my answer will be posted on his or her blog on an appointed day. I will follow the comments made on the blog, addressing them as they arise. It will be, I hope, a chance to facilitate a productive and God-glorifying conversation about the issue of discernment through a series of exchanges with others. It allows me to attempt to address questions other people may have about discernment and potentially to address questions that are of particular importance to readers of other blogs.

Today we move the tour to Tall Skinny Kiwi, the blog of Andrew Jones. Andrew asked me two questions. First, he asked Why all this controversy about having only trained, credentialed professions writing books like this from people that give verbal assent to the priesthood of all believers? He followed that question with this one: The wisdom of crowds in the blogosphere can no doubt help in the self-correction of error but what do you see are the dangers?.

Read my answers here.

Here is where the tour will take me over the next couple of weeks:

As I mentioned recently, this week and the next will see me participating in a “blog tour” in support of my new book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. The owner of another blog will pose a question about discernment and my answer will be posted on his or her blog on an appointed day. I will follow the comments made on the blog, addressing them as they arise. It will be, I hope, a chance to facilitate a productive and God-glorifying conversation about the issue of discernment through a series of exchanges with others. It allows me to attempt to address questions other people may have about discernment and potentially to address questions that are of particular importance to readers of other blogs.

The first day of this blog tour takes me to Joe Carter’s Evangelical Outpost. Joe’s blog is one of the first ones I ever read and has been a daily stop for years. I’m thrilled, then, that he was willing and eager to participate. He asks What does discernment mean from a biblical perspective?

Read my answer here.

Here is how the tour will shape up over the next two weeks.

Next year is an Olympic year and in the summer of 2008, athletes will converge on Beijing to complete in 302 events across 28 different sports. Already we are beginning to hear about qualifying events and national Olympic committees choosing the teams they will send to China to represent their countries. There isn’t an athlete who isn’t already dreaming of earning a spot on the Olympic team and earning a gold medal for his country.

Athletes know that to earn a spot on the team and to have any hope of bringing home a medal, they need to commit to a serious training regimen. Though the Olympics are still almost 300 days away from the opening ceremonies, all around the world men and women are preparing themselves, pushing their bodies to the limits, enduring grueling competitions, so they can be at their absolute best when the games kick off on August 8, 2008. Only with constant practice, constant attention to their sport, will these athletes be ready to perform at the highest standards. Only those who are absolutely dedicated to their sport will win the prize.

This weekend I read Craig Brown’s The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism, a small book that has just been published by Ligonier Ministries. It is a book that seeks to address five of the most common charges against Calvinistic theology, showing how Calvinism ultimately addresses these issues in a way that is faithful to Scripture. In a brief Foreword to this book, R.C. Sproul says something that resonated in my mind throughout the weekend. He first quotes Hebrews 5:12-14 which reads. “[E]veryone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Sproul than says, “In other words, there is much to the Scriptures and the Christian faith beyond what immediately meets the eye, and it is not easy to get at it—‘constant practice’ is necessary to move from the ‘unskilled’ state to that of ‘mature’ and ‘trained.’ Even Peter acknowledged the difficulty of doctrine when he said of the letters of his colleague Paul, the apostle who, more than any other, laid down the doctrinal basics of the Christian faith: ‘There are some things in them that are hard to understand’ (2 Peter 3:16b). He was right. For this reason, I would be suspicious of any doctrinal system I could thoroughly grasp with ease.”

As I was writing The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment I spent quite a bit of time studying and pondering those verses from Hebrews 5. I found them challenging verses and ones that had important things to tell us about discernment and its deep connection to spiritual maturity. I’ve written about that here in the past in a three-part Call to Discernment.

But the verses are also a challenge to us in that they exhort us to constant practice. All around the world Olympic athletes are practicing as they gear up for the Olympics, hoping that they can bring a medal home with them. And yet many Christians seemed lulled into complacency about the spiritual matters that are of far greater importance than any athletic competition. The Bible is clear, not only in Hebrews but in other passages, that God expects and demands maturity. He expects that we will move beyond the unskilled state to the state of one who is mature and trained—the state of one who is ready to be challenged.

As I read these words from Hebrews and as I pondered their significance I was led to ask myself, “What have I done today to prepare myself?” I am certain that this is a question athletes must ask themselves every day as well. And I asked again this morning, “What will I do to practice today?” To be a man who is mature in my faith and to be a person who is ready to have my faith challenged, I must practice and I must dedicate myself to maturity. Have I done those things God requires of me in order to mature in my faith? Have I given time to learning from Him in the Bible? Have I spent time communing with Him in prayer? Have I dedicated myself to a local church and to sharing my life with other Christian men and women? If I wish to be mature, I must train. And if I am to be mature, I must train in the way God tells me to.

My challenge to you and my challenge to myself at the beginning of another week is simply this: What have you done to practice?

"O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you…"

One of my favorite television programs is Antiques Roadshow. The program affords people the opportunity to present their antique possessions--whether furniture, paintings, toys, or anything else-- and to have them appraised by some of the world's foremost experts in antiquities. For every episode the producers single out ten or fifteen items and show an expert providing a detailed description and valuation of the item. Each section closes with the expert telling the owner just what the item is worth. It is always amusing to see eyes pop out or to see people jump up and down with excitement as they realize that they have in their possession an item worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. During every episode the viewer has opportunity to see "junk" transformed to treasure.

There is one segment from a particular episode that stands out in my mind, because it featured the most valuable item they had appraised to that point. An elderly gentleman from Tucson, Arizona, brought in an old blanket he had inherited several years before. He knew it was old and believed it had a little bit of value, perhaps a few hundred or even a couple of thousand dollars. After inheriting this blanket he had thrown it over the back of a rocking chair in his bedroom and had not often thought about it until presented with opportunity to take it to the Roadshow.

With the blanket hanging on a rack behind them, the expert appraiser told the old man that his heart had stopped when he first saw it. As I watched the show, I could see the excitement written all over the expert's face and extending throughout his body. He could not stand still. He began to explain that the item was a Navajo chief's blanket that had been woven in the 1840s. In wonderful condition, it was one of the oldest, intact Navajo weaves to survive to the twenty-first century, and certainly one of only a tiny handful to exist outside of museum collections. He showed the fine detail of the weaving and even showed where it had been torn and repaired shortly after it was first made. I could see the excitement in his eyes as he looked at something he knew was extremely valuable. He knew that sitting before him was something more than a blanket--it was a rare national treasure of incredible value and historical significance.

The appraiser seemed to have trouble even beginning to convey to the audience the importance of this blanket. He left no doubt, though, when he told of its value. Because of its rarity and significance, he had no trouble assigning a value of somewhere between 350,000 and 500,000 dollars. This elderly gentleman had come to the show carrying a blanket worth almost a half-million dollars. He simply could not believe what he was hearing. Choked up and with tears pouring from his eyes he asked to hear the amount again. He looked as if he might pass out.

As the man walked out of the convention center where the show had been held, the blanket he had cavalierly carried in with him was now cradled carefully in his arms. He walked out of the building with security guards on either side of him, drove straight to a bank, and placed the blanket in a safe deposit box. What had been "junk," a mere accent to an old rocking chair, had been instantly transformed into a precious treasure.

When God saves his people, bringing us from death to life, he opens our eyes to love and appreciate the supreme treasure that is Jesus Christ. What had once been of little interest or significance is suddenly transformed into something of inestimable value and worth. The gospel message--the news of Jesus' miraculous birth, perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection--is great and joyous news, and yet, for this very reason, it is under attack by the forces of evil. The eminent nineteenth-century pastor and author J.C. Ryle wrote of just some of the ways the gospel can be spoiled to us:

You may spoil the Gospel by substitution. You have only to withdraw from the eyes of the sinner the grand object which the Bible proposes to faith,--Jesus Christ; and to substitute another object in His place … and the mischief is done. Substitute anything for Christ, and the Gospel is totally spoiled!

You may spoil the Gospel by addition. You have only to add to Christ, the grand object of faith, some other objects as equally worthy of honour, and the mischief is done. Add anything to Christ, and the Gospel ceases to be a pure Gospel!

You may spoil the Gospel by interposition. You have only to push something between Christ and the eye of the soul, to draw away the sinner's attention from the Saviour, and the mischief is done.

You may spoil the Gospel by disproportion. You have only to attach an exaggerated importance to the secondary things of Christianity, and a diminished importance to the first things, and the mischief is done. Once alter the proportion of the parts of truth, and truth soon becomes downright error!

You may completely spoil the Gospel by confused and contradictory directions. Complicated and obscure statements about faith, baptism, Church privileges, and the benefits of the Lord's Supper…are almost as bad as no statement at all!

The gospel can be spoiled, though not objectively, for it is an objective reality. Yet it can be spoiled by us and to us. We can modify the gospel, either deliberately or inadvertently, stripping it of its power and its glory. We can bring to people a counterfeit gospel that is no gospel at all. It is the discipline of discernment that God has provided us to guard the purity of the gospel.

Discernment, then, is not an end in itself. Rather, discernment is the means to a far greater and nobler end. By practicing spiritual discernment we guard the gospel, the message of eternal life. The apostle Paul, writing to his young protege Timothy, called him to do just this in both of the letters to Timothy recorded in Scripture. "O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you," Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:20. In his next letter he reiterates, "By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you" (2 Tim. 1:14). Through the power of the Spirit, Timothy was to guard the gospel.

This word deposit is taken from the ancient world. In the age before personal safes and safe deposit boxes, a person who was going to be away for some time might ask another to care for a treasured possession. He would entrust this possession to another, depositing it to him, and this person was bound by a sacred oath to protect it. In his letters to Timothy, Paul, who knows that he will not always be able to encourage and mentor Timothy, entrusts to him the gospel message. Timothy would be expected to guard this message and to find worthy, godly Christians to whom he could in turn entrust it. And so the gospel has been protected and has carried from one generation to the next through the long, storied history of the church. And so it has been handed in trust to you and to me and to all who believe.

John Stott, in his introduction to his commentary on 2 Timothy, says this:

The church of our day urgently needs to heed the message of this second letter of Paul to Timothy. For all around us we see Christians and churches relaxing their grasp of the gospel, fumbling it, in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether. A new generation of young Timothys is needed, who will guard the sacred deposit of the gospel, who are determined to proclaim it and are prepared to suffer for it, and who will pass it on pure and uncorrupted to the generation which in due course will rise up to follow them.

God has given us the gospel in trust. He has deposited it to our account and expects that we will guard this priceless, precious treasure. God has entrusted to us something of infinite worth and unsurpassed beauty. He has not left us to our own devices, but he has provided for us the Holy Spirit, that with his help we may be faithful in guarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. Spiritual discernment allows us to keep the gospel central and allows us to see and guard against error. Spiritual discernment is absolutely crucial to the one who would understand and heed the gospel. Nothing less than the gospel is at stake.

This is a brief excerpt drawn from my upcoming book “The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.” This subject of guarding the deposit has been much on my mind lately so I thought it would be appropriate to share with you this small portion of the book.

What do I do with the gift of discernment? What if I want it? What if I don’t have it?

This is the third and final entry in this brief series dealing with the gift of spiritual discernment. The first part is available here: The Gift of Spiritual Discernment. In this first article we looked at the question of "What is the gift of discernment?" and concluded that "Men and women with the gift of discernment are specially gifted in distinguishing between those words, deeds and appearances that are true and those that are false." In the second article (which is available here: The Gift of Spiritual Discernment Part 2) we saw how you can know that you have been gifted in this way (or in another way). We paused briefly to look at how we can understand how we've been gifted. In this final part we’ll look at what we can do with the spiritual gift of discernment, what we can do if we want it, and what we should do if we don’t have it.

What do I do with the gift of discernment?

In his commentary on 1 Corinthians, John MacArthur makes the important point that the gift of discernment is especially necessary and especially valuable during those times that Christianity is considered acceptable in society. When the church is enduring an era of persecution, there are bound to be few false teachers for not many people are willing to risk their very lives for something they believe to be false. The stakes are simply too high for such false teachers. But, as church history can attest, when Christianity is accepted and tolerated, false teachers arise quickly and soon fill the church. Those of us who are privileged to live in a nation that allows us freedom to worship must be particularly cautious. The truth is under attack more today than at any other time in history and this should not be surprising in a culture that so values religious freedom and tolerance. Add to such an accepting culture unparalleled speed of communication and the ability to publish books and other writings quickly and easily, and we can rightly conclude that error is being spread with startling speed and efficiency. What the church needs today is a class of believers who are identified as the experts in discernment and as those who have special ability in this area.

If we believe, as the Bible teaches, that spiritual gifts are given for the benefit of other believers, it seems clear that the purpose of the gift discernment is primarily to protect other believers and to protect the local church. Where evangelism is a gift that is offensive in nature, taking the battle to new regions, discernment is a defensive gift that protects the ground that has already been taken.

In general, those with the gift of discernment should be able to Identify and expose the spirit of Satan. While all believers are exhorted that they must "not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1), those with the gift of discernment have been given special ability and responsibility. They are equipped by the Spirit to expose the lies of Satan in the teaching of men. They are able to see to the heart of the issues and to see Satan's shadow behind what does not accord with the Word of God.

Here are some specific and practical ways in which this gift can be exercised in the church today.

Separating truth from error. The theme of separating truth from error is a constant one in any discussion of discernment. The primary task in discernment, as we have seen repeatedly in this book, is to separate what is true from what is false. Thus the primary way a person with the gift of discernment can serve the church is to be a student of the Word and to use his understanding of Scripture to distinguish between what is true and what is false. It is the discerning person who will be comparing the words of the preacher with Scripture and who will lead the way in warning others of false teaching.

Discerning the will of God. We have learned already that discernment concerns first the truth of God and then the will of God. A person with the gift of discernment can assist others in seeking and finding the will of God. (See my book for more information on the will of God!)

Identifying the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. People with the gift of discernment are finely tuned to the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit. They are able, based once again on their knowledge of God and the truths He has revealed about Himself, to understand how He works and where He is working. They are also gifted in being able to tell where the Spirit is not present and warning others of counterfeit teaching or counterfeit Christians.

Identifying worldliness. Because the spirit of Satan breeds worldliness rather than godliness, men and women with the gift of spiritual discernment are able to see worldliness for what it is. Many Christians, and especially young Christians, confuse carnality for godliness, man-made rules for God-ordained holiness. Discerning Christians will be able to distinguish between what is truly holy and what is simply a manufactured holiness that leads only to failure and discouragement.

Overseeing the exercise of spiritual gifts. People with the gift of discernment are able to oversee the exercise of other gifts, ensuring that they are done in a way that will bring honor to God and serve other believers. They are able to see when the exercise of gifts is inconsistent with Scripture.

Deciding disputes. 1 Corinthians 6 finds Paul criticizing the church at Corinth for taking disputes between believers before the world. "Can it be," he asks, "that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers" (1 Corinthians 6:5b)? What has been translated "settle a dispute" is the word diakrino. Most other translations say something like "judge a dispute between believers" or "judge between fellow believers." It may be that Paul indicates that believers who are gifted in discernment should lead in settling such disputes, using their knowledge of God's truth to judge or distinguish between what is right and wrong.

Protecting new Christians. Because discernment depends so much on knowledge of God's truth, Christians with the gift of discernment should place particular emphasis on protecting the young and the immature believers who have not had time and opportunity to grow in their understanding of the Bible. Those with the gift are able to surround and protect them, shepherding them by ensuring they are not led astray and leading them to greater understanding of what the Bible teaches.

Those Christians who are gifted in discernment have endless opportunities to serve God by serving the church. What I have listed here is only the beginning. Opportunities will be as wide and as diverse as the church itself.

What if I want it?

The Bible tells us not only that we have spiritual gifts, but also that we are to desire spiritual gifts. There is no shame in desiring the gift of discernment or any other gift, as long as it is desired that we may use it to manifest the Spirit and to serve the body of Christ. However, we must be prepared that God may not see fit to answer this prayer. God may choose to gift us in ways other than what we would prefer and we know that He will gift in ways that fill needs throughout the church.

If you desire this gift, ask God for it. Ask with expectation, but with humility, knowing that God knows best and that He has so fitted the church together that you may need to be used in another way on the basis of another gift. And even if you are never convinced that you have been given this gift, practice discernment nevertheless!

What if I don't have it?

If you are certain that you have not been given the gift of discernment, find someone who does and ask that person for assistance when necessary. And no matter what, continue to seek to grow in discernment. Even if God has not specifically gifted you in this way, He still expects you to grow in discernment and to practice this discipline. Do so to His glory and for the benefit of the church.

How can I know how the Holy Spirit has gifted me?

This is the second part in what I anticipate will be a brief three-part series examining the spiritual gift of discernment. The first part is available here: The Gift of Spiritual Discernment. In this first article we looked at the question of “What is the gift of discernment?” and concluded that “Men and women with the gift of discernment are specially gifted in distinguishing between those words, deeds and appearances that are true and those that are false.” Today we move on to how you can know that you have been gifted in this way (or in another way). We pause briefly to look at how we can understand how we’ve been gifted.

How do I know if I have this gift?

The Bible seems to indicate that Christians will typically know how they have been gifted. There is certainly nothing that would hint at the modern methods of discovering gifts through surveys or assessments. And yet, while most Christians know that the gifts of the Spirit are given to God's people, they continue to struggle with identifying the ways in which God has gifted them.

Because gifts are given for the benefit of the body, it seems likely that where there is a need, there will be someone with the gifting to fill that need. If a church has a desperate need for a person with the gift of teaching, it seems likely that someone within the church has been given such a gift and may fill the need, at least for a season. Similarly, if a person is a member of a church where there is no opportunity to exercise a certain gift, it may be that this church needs to create opportunities or that, in extreme cases, the person needs to seek a church where he can be of service to others. The leaders of churches should seek to ensure that they are providing opportunities for members to exercise the full spectrum of gifts. Wayne Grudem writes, "Though the lists of gifts given in the New Testament are not exhaustive, they certainly provide a good starting point for churches to ask whether at least there is opportunity for these gifts to be used."

For those who continue to struggle with identifying how God has gifted them, here are a few principles that will prove helpful.

Begin with prayer. God promises to give wisdom to any who ask for it. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him" (James 1:5). Thus we should begin our search for gifting by asking God to make it plain to us how He has gifted us and how He desires that we serve Him by serving others. We must ask for wisdom in seeing how God has gifted us and in opening our eyes to opportunities to serve Him.

Look for passion. Where God has given a gift, we can expect that He will also give passion. A good place to begin when considering spiritual gifts is to see where God has given desire and passion. A person who is passionate about having people into her home may well have a gift of hospitality; a person who loves to organize events may be gifted with a kind of leadership; a person who is passionate about the truth of God may be gifted with discernment. Those who look for their gifting should look to what interests them and what makes them feel passionate. As they look to their passions they may just find their gifts.

Ask others. Another way of seeking gifting is to ask other believers and especially those in spiritual leadership over you. Simply ask other Christians, those who know you best and who lead and guide you, where they feel you should serve within the church. Ask them to prayerfully consider your gifting. Their wisdom and guidance may surprise you.

Try them! Christians should try different opportunities to serve within the church. As we attempt different things and do so in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can expect that He will reveal passion and gifting in ways we may not expect. There is a danger in doing only those things that we are comfortable with or serving only in the ways we think we are most talented. Think of Moses, a frightened and timid man being called to lead a nation or the Apostle Paul with a thorn in his flesh being called to take the gospel to all the nations. God does not always gift us in ways we are comfortable with or in ways we might expect. By attempting different gifts we can look to those where God brings blessing and success and perhaps see that we have a special gifting in these areas.

Keep trying! The Bible does not tell us that all spiritual gifts are given at the time of conversion or that, once given, they are given permanently. As we grow in our knowledge and love of the Lord, we should continue to seek ways of serving Him. We may be surprised to find that our gifting changes along with the needs of our local church. We may find that God wishes us to emphasize different gifts now then in the past. So keep serving God and keep searching for His gifting in your life.

If confusion continues, take heart, wait patiently for God's wisdom and guidance, and serve Him whenever and wherever possible. He will answer your prayers.

In the final article of this series we’ll look at what you can do with the gift of discernment, what to do if you want it, and what to do if you don't have it.