I have been spending time focusing on discernment related to God’s leading in my art as a means of communication with the world – Speaking His Word! In general terms I have discovered a very tangible peace and contentment in this abiding exercise of attentiveness. That is how I would describe discernment. It is simply attentiveness and presence. It is a sort of positional listening and looking. This is so because God is always present, always revealing, always proclaiming. We simply forget to see.
Maybe it is an over-stimulation of sorts. I can “not hear” my four year old with great acumen. He can be standing right in front of me, asking his question repeatedly, and I will not hear him at all. I have developed a sort of callous attention when it comes to the frequency (used both ways) of his voice. This is not a good thing, but it is true.
Callous attention. This is the condition of sin when it comes to our senses. We have callous attention when all around us God is screaming our names! Urging, beckoning, cajoling, exercising every method to make himself known. Touch me! Hear me! Taste me! See me! Know me!
Yet His everyday revelation is subtle. This is the oxymoronic strangeness of God. He speaks with a screaming subtlety. A subtlety like radio waves for a person without a radio, or a WI-FI connection for a person without a device to connect. I am a sign saying "HEY! FREE WIFI!"
Discernment isn't a skill we can develop. It isn't an exercise, or a practice. It is a gift. One we simply have to be open to receive.
Are you open?
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