Don’t you just love it when you are reading in Scripture and suddenly a phrase or thought captivates your attention. Happens to me all the time. I’ll try to read further, but I just keep coming back to that one phrase that seems to resonate with my spirit at that moment. Today it was the phrase in Philippians, “able to discern what is best.”
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.” [Phil 1:9-10 NIV]
I also like the way the NKJV says it, “that you may approve the things that are excellent.”
Every day we make choices. Some of them are simple choices, such as eggs or cereal for breakfast, which brand of something to buy, what color shirt to wear. Some of them are more serious or complicated, put the money in savings or take that vacation, continue to date this person, opt for treatment or let the disease run its course.
Paul’s prayer for his beloved Philippians is that they might have the ability to look at all the choices and pick the most excellent one. And I would think to Paul the most excellent choice is the choice that has eternal factors, the choice that leads toward God and not away from Him.
How will this affect my relationship with my beloved Savior? What are the eternal consequences? Knowing that it would take more and more knowledge and spiritual insight, Paul prayed for them. That is my prayer for you and for me today.
Father, may our love grow in knowledge of You. May we have deep insight through Your Spirit so that we might always choose what is best eternally. Amen.
