Discernment for real increase

Discernement is a spiritual gift given through the Holy spirit who lives inside of the believer. Everyone with a sound mind seeks to increase at some point in their life. Increase or growth is in the DNA of every human being. In fact every time someone stops growing they have reached their expiration date. It is crucial to always aim at growing, improving and increasing in life. Increase is good, but real increase is better. Real increase comes with discernment and that is what we will examine in this blog.

Discernment for real increase speaks about the ability to make wise and informed decisions that lead to genuine growth and improvement in life. It involves recognizing opportunities, evaluating choices, and choosing paths that bring about positive and meaningful changes.

People want doors to open, great opportunities to come their way, but it is important to understand that every door that opens is not the door that will lead you to growth. There are some doors that open widely, just to put you in a life sentence of captivity. Jails and prisons also have doors that can sometimes be disguised; therefore you will need discernment to not enter such doors and be trapped forever.

Please consider the following important points when operating with discernment for real increase:

1. Faith is not foolishness! 
   I have seen many believers make foolish decisions for the sake of faith, only to realize afterwards that they acted in foolishness. I remember a guy who had just been hired by a great company. He had prayed to have that job and God answered his prayer. One day because he was into the “things of the Lord”, leading a small group, praying often, meditating the word of God, he thought it was wise to lead prayer during work hours. While he was absent from his post, something happened, he was framed and eventually lost his job! He was very upset because he thought he was putting into practice the bible verse: “seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you”. This scripture is not a permission to not do your job during working hours. You cannot use your working hours to lead a prayer meeting! God is absolutely not ok with that type of behavior! You are misusing someone else’s property by doing so.
   

2. Having Clear Goals for real increase
Having a clear sense of what you want to achieve helps you identify opportunities that contribute to real growth. You always have homework to do for yourself. You ought to be able to answer important questions that aim to define your vision. What is it that you want to do with your life? What did God call you for? If I am working for this company, what is my plan? What do I want to accomplish? What do I want to achieve in this job, business, or relationship I am involved in right now? Clearly defining your goals and aspirations is essential for making decisions that align with your vision for the future. Defining your goals will cause you to:

• Accept certain positions because they bring you one step closer to realizing your dream.
• Separate from some relationships because they push you farther away from your vision.
• Build relationships with specific individuals because they are like-minded individuals who can help you fulfill your purpose in life.
• Stay focused on your priorities because they matter
• Stay committed to your pursuits
• Use your time wisely by reducing distractions and time wasting activities.
• Create clear goals because they act as a roadmap, guiding your actions and decisions towards a specific destination.
• Now, it is lack of discernment to put your life on hold because you fell in love with an unbeliever just because he looks cute ! You won’t stay focused, you will get distracted by romance, and obviously your goals will not be in alignment with real increase!

4. Discipline and patience for real increase
Real increase often requires discipline and patience. In a previous blog I spoke about the fact that we must consider discipline if we ever want to increase. Discipline will cause you to develop patience, which is a key virtue. Some opportunities may offer quick but temporary gains, while others might involve consistent effort over time for more significant and lasting results.
You will need patience to:

• Properly educate yourself and develop certain skills. Expertise often comes with time and consistency.
• Physically, emotionally and spiritually be healthy. Regular physical exercise while maintaining a healthy lifestyle over time, praying and meditating the word of God, will increase your well-being and longevity.
• Grow your business, because it requires consistent effort, dedication, and perseverance.
• Get a return on your Investment. For example, consistent contributions to your retirement funds will result in long-term financial growth and even stability.
• Build relationships: Investing your time, your treasure and your effort in nurturing relationships will lead to stronger bonds and deeper connections with others. Remember that relationships are currencies!
• Learn a New Language, or a new skill.

I can go on and on but the bottom line is patience is an important key to your growth.
Jean Jacques Rousseau once said:
“Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet”

Real increase causes us to learn from past experiences and to seek feedback. Knowledge of your past along with your friends, family, and mentors’ feedbacks can enhance your ability to make better choices in the future. There are important things we often overlook, so it is always a blessing to have another set of eyes to provide you with a valuable perspective.

Discernment also involves embracing Change. Heraclitus, a philosopher, once said : “the only constant is change”. Change will always occur regardless of who we are or where we are.
Being open to change and learning to adapt or adjust is crucial because circumstances and opportunities always evolve over time.

4. Above all Discernment for real increase refers to Discipline of conformity.

To conform means to work in compliance with standards. You need to be disciplined to adhere to what guarantees your success, your growth, and your real increase. To engage in this discipline of conformity you need the enabling grace of God and your own will. Both empower you to practice critical thinking, allowing you to analyze situations, weigh pros and cons, and make well-informed choices and decisions.

Moreover, the enabling grace of God helps you to understand your strengths, weaknesses, values, and passions. Knowledge of the latter helps you to make choices that resonate with your vision and contribute to personal growth.
Some scriptures validate this idea. In the book of Philippians the Bible speaks about what we can do. Philippians 4:13 reads : “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Even the success I am looking for is given to me through Christ. It’s Christ who gives me strength to be able to increase. The union between the enabling grace of God and your will empowers you.

Furthermore, the bible says:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Good success, real increase, is tied to the discipline you practice in meditating the word of God. While doing so you gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of various concepts pertaining to the creation of systems that work well for your life. The union between your diligence and the grace of God is what will produce real increase.
I hope you will consider the ideas I developed in this blog. If you use discernment in the different areas of your life you will experience real increase!