Discernment

Discerning the leading of God is not easy.  If it was easy, we might use a different word than discern.  The reality is that knowing God's way is not always as easy as a casual glance in His direction, or as simple as asking someone on the corner of a street in a small town for directions.  The word "discern" points toward something that might not be obvious, or visible to the eyes of birth.  It is a word which directs us toward an impending and inevitable struggle.  

Most likely what we seek is not going to be known tomorrow since it is hidden still in the hands of God and exists in that invisible realm of not yet revealed.  It is also often difficult to know because of our impatience with God.  The first temptation faced in discerning what God wants us to do is to lay aside what we perceive it to be through our logic.  We tend to jump ahead of God and end up landing on our own assumptions and desires.  Another hurdle to face is the way we can end up trying to manipulate God into providing clarity for us when part the process of knowing is living in the unknowing.  

What we often forget is that God is one who is not as concerned with arriving at the destination as He is in the journey that brings us to the moment of arrival.  The discerning process is one of trusting One who leads from a distance, who takes us where we cannot see, and who is not necessarily in a hurry to do so.  Discerning the leading of God is often like peeling layers of thin skin from an onion.  We will finally see and know what is hidden, but only as we wait on the Lord to show us the way.