Favor Fridays with Tony™: When God Favors You With Discernment—Why Knowing What to Do Next Matters More Than How Long You’ve Endured
- Tyrone Tony Reed Jr.
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
By the last Friday of January, most people are no longer struggling with whether they can hold on.
They’re struggling with something deeper.
What comes next?
The adrenaline of the new year is gone. The grit of endurance has already been tested. You’ve stayed. You’ve remained. You didn’t quit when it got uncomfortable.
Now comes the harder question:
Where is this actually leading me?
That question is not a sign of doubt. It’s often a sign of favor.
Because endurance keeps you standing—but discernment keeps you aligned.
Endurance Without Discernment Leads to Burnout
Scripture never glorifies suffering for its own sake. It honors purposeful obedience.
Solomon writes, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 22:3). That verse isn’t about fear—it’s about awareness.
Some people endure longer than God ever intended, not because they are faithful, but because they are unsure how to listen.
Discernment is favor because it tells you:
when to stay
when to move
when to release
when to prepare
Endurance keeps you from quitting too early. Discernment keeps you from staying too long.
Both are necessary—but discernment comes after staying power has been proven.
Discernment Is God Trusting You With Direction
Many people want instruction. Fewer are ready for discernment.
Instruction is external. Discernment is internal.
Paul prays this over believers: “That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best” (Philippians 1:9–10).
Discernment is not about knowing everything. It’s about knowing what matters most right now.
If God is sharpening your discernment, it means He’s no longer just keeping you—He’s guiding you.
That’s favor.
January Is Where Discernment Replaces Motivation
Motivation gets you started. Discipline helps you endure. Discernment tells you how to move forward wisely.
Jesus never rushed decisions. Scripture tells us that before major moments, “Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12). That prayer preceded direction.
Discernment is born in quiet—not urgency.
If things feel slower right now, that may not be resistance. It may be refinement.
When Discernment Begins to Cost You
Discernment isn’t comfortable.
It will:
challenge habits that once felt harmless
expose commitments that no longer align
force you to say no without having a better yes yet
Hebrews reminds us, “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14).
Discernment is maturity in action.
You don’t lose peace because you’re wrong. You lose peace because you’re being alerted.
Real Life: When You’re Still Standing—but Unsettled
This is the tension many people feel at the end of January.
You didn’t quit.
You didn’t fail.
You didn’t walk away.
And yet… something feels incomplete.
That discomfort is not ingratitude. It’s discernment awakening.
David prayed boldly, “Search me, God, and know my heart… See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).
Discernment begins when you invite God to clarify, not just comfort.
Discernment Protects You From Emotional Decisions
Emotion is powerful—but unreliable.
Proverbs warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Discernment slows emotion long enough for wisdom to speak.
It keeps you from:
reacting instead of responding
moving because you’re tired instead of called
changing direction just to escape discomfort
Discernment doesn’t shout. It checks.
God Often Uses Discernment to Prepare Transitions
Not every transition is immediate.
Sometimes God shows you something is shifting before He moves you.
Ecclesiastes tells us, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Discernment helps you recognize the season you’re in so you don’t force the next one.
Favor doesn’t rush timing.
It clarifies it.
Discernment Is Favor for the Next Level
New levels require new awareness.
What worked before may not work next.
What was acceptable before may now be costly.
What sustained you before may now limit you.
Jesus told His disciples, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear” (John 16:12).
Discernment grows as capacity grows.
If God is sharpening your discernment, it’s because you are being prepared to carry more responsibility, not less.
A Prayer for Discernment at the End of January
God,
Thank You for sustaining me through what I needed to endure.
Now grant me wisdom to recognize what You are doing next.
Quiet the noise.
Sharpen my awareness.
Help me discern without fear and obey without hesitation.
I trust You not just to keep me—but to guide me.
Amen.
A Closing Word—and an Invitation
Staying power kept you standing.
Discernment will move you forward wisely.
And if you’re drawn to stories that explore discernment, spiritual warfare, unseen battles, and the cost of choosing rightly when darkness presses in, those themes live at the heart of my S.O.L.A.D.™: Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™ novel series.
These books wrestle honestly with the tension between endurance and direction—between holding on and moving forward. You can find them, including signed copies, at:
Favor doesn’t just keep you.
Sometimes it teaches you how to see clearly.
Comments