Jesus had to discern between two opposing things too

Often in today's life, we have to decide which course of action to take, and during tricky situations it might feel like we are being torn in two different directions. 

I'm not talking about the simpler case where one thing is good and the other is bad, and we need to withstand temptation to avoid going down the bad route. 

No, instead I'm talking about being torn between two different things which are both good, but that are mutually exclusive (for example, that would require us to be in two different places at once). In this situation, it's even more frustrating to have that "caught in the middle" feeling because there isn't at first glance a strongly "correct" answer.

When I was reading the Bible, I came across a clear occasion where Jesus had to discern between two opposing things also, which I'll illustrate below. Of course, since Jesus is the son of God, he has the advantage of perfect discernment, which we don't have. But we can feel encouraged that He has been in some of the same situations we are in and can certainly relate to us. The only difference is that He has infinitely better discernment.

At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, "I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." 

Luke 4: 42-43

We can see that Jesus had two different things going on: the crowds wanted him to keep teaching them, but Jesus's mission was to proclaim the good news of God to other places also. 

Even though it might have seemed helpful to keep teaching the people who wanted him to stay, that was not Jesus's mission of why He was sent. His mission was to tell people of other cities also. The news was not just for one city. So Jesus, knowing what God's plan was for Him, stuck with God's plan, and that is what we must do too when we are faced with two opposing things.

The difficult thing for us is that we are not always able to discern what God's plan is for us, and this is where prayer will really help. Jesus prayed a lot, and if one so strong as Him felt that He needed to pray, then how much more do we, who are weaker, need to pray also? In praying, we can know God better and therefore know His will for us. And rest assured, Jesus knows the human feeling of what it is to be faced with two opposing things. Jesus knows what you are experiencing and you can take your prayers for wisdom and discernment to Him.

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