Knowing And Doing What Is Good

Pursuing truth requires more than knowing where the facts lead. It requires the honesty to actually follow them, regardless of who they implicate. - Hannah Anderson- All that Is Good

Over the weekend I participated in a writers retreat. It was with the writing community, Flourish Writers, that I have been a member of for the last year and a half. A writing community is truly a blessing. I highly recommend being in one if you are writer.

At the same time I was learning from the carefully curated group of speakers that Flourish Writers had chosen each afternoon, my mornings and evenings were spent slowly reading the book: All Is Good, by Hannah Anderson. A book about discernment. How can we know what is good and what is best and what is pure evil dressed up fancy? It is an impossibility to know without the Spirit.

Discernment is developing a sense of what is good. Becoming able with practice and trust to see the difference between the shallow and the deep. Knowing what is for you and what isn’t for you. Some things are for other people to experience, not you.

As a person who wants to know everything and has an annoying habit of studying and researching and thinking about how I can have everything the best way. I rearrange already nice rooms to see everything from a new and hopefully better angle. I tend to go overboard on the information, and the possibilities, and I love knowing how other people work things out. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to other people’s desks.

I prayed God would show me what was good advice for me in this season of my life. To know the truth. To follow the facts. I prayed I would become aware of faults in myself.

Because I want to be wise, I will humble myself before my God. I like the feel of an intentional action brought on by clear thought and brought through to fruition by discipline of one small step at a time. God honors our seeking. We will find what we are seeking if we are taking steps that look like body and soul bowed in expectation to see.

We do have to actually search and ask though. God doesn’t always answer quickly. This time praying before the writer’s retreat resulted in a quick answer for me. I saw what I was doing wrong. I looked facts in the face.

The truth given the way only God can give it. God says, “let’s do this good thing together. You and I will work on it together. We will stop and rest, and if instead of resting you stay up to late rearranging rooms again or if you can’t sleep because your mind is trying to do things I never asked you to do, I’ll remind you once again when you fall down tired that I will bless you in all you do” (see Deut. 15:18).

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Psalm 138:8

I would rather know the truth and face it fully than let a lie steal, kill and destroy my present life. The truth for me right now is I see a clear direction. I see what will be good for me. Now it is time to take the knowledge of the truth and do the difficult disciplined things that I know need to be done. But first, after writing this I have to go finish the room I foolishly started to rearrange over the weekend because I thought my writing desk would be nicer beside the window.