By Olubunmi Adebayo
*One of the most crucial gifts of survival in life, is the gift of discernment.*
*When you have it, and use it well, your chances of survival increases, but when you lack it, or you do not engage it, the possibility of your survival is quite slim indeed.*
*When the young prophet was sent by God from Judah to cry against the altar at Bethel, he was given two basic directives :*
*1 Kings 13: [9] “For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, (1) Eat no bread, nor drink water, (2) nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.”*
*He delivered the message of God at Bethel with signs and wonders following:*
*1 Kings 13: [2] And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.*
*[3]And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.*
*In fact when the King wanted to lay his hands on him to punish him for delivering such a powerful message, the hand of the king withered and became paralyzed, until he (the king) begged, and asked for the prayers of the young prophet.*
*But he lacked the gift of DISCERNMENT. Please read how it played out :*
*1 Kings 13: [14] And went after the man of God (ie the old prophet), and found him (ie, the young prophet) sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.*
*[15]Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.*
*[16]And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:*
*[17]For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.*
*[18]He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.*
*[19]So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.*
*Listen beloved : when it mattered most, the young prophet couldn’t engage his gift of discernment.*
*God told him not to eat in a place, but an old man, told him he was also a prophet. But instead of going back to God to confirm what the old prophet had just said God told him, he allowed :*
*1) The obvious appearance of being a man of God by the old prophet to convince him.*
*2) The statement that an angel told him (the old prophet) to replace the directive of God that he should not eat in the place.*
*Discernment simply means :*
*Your ability to critically distinguish between options available before you.*
*Discernment can also be explained to mean your sense of judgement to identify red lines or dangers around you.*
*We can also explain discernment to mean the ability to perceive differences that exist.*
*It can also mean the condition of your Perceptiveness.*
*Discernment is also your ability to make wise judgements through judging objectively.*
*In all of these pointed definitions of discernment, the young prophet failed.*
*If you are gifted in discernment, there are times that your troubles are half solved, but if you lack it, your troubles may just be starting.*
*One of the things you grow from the standpoint of experience is discernment.*
*After the young prophet had finished eating, listen to what happened thereafter :*
*1 Kings 13 : [20] And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:*
*[21]And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,*
*[22]But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.*
*[24]And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.*
*Lack of discernment ends the life and ministry of such a vibrant, youthful young prophet.*
*Tomorrow God willing, we shall be looking at deep lessons we should learn from his sober and sad story.*
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
