I have a confession to make: I’m not the spiritual scholar some people think I am. At best I’m a researcher and reporter, sharing a few ideas from the little that I’ve read.
The truth is I’m a relatively new seeker of wisdom. I’ve been a lifelong churchgoer, but most of the time I’ve just floated along believing everything was happening according to God’s will. But something has changed in the past few years. Perhaps it’s middle age and the ticking of clocks, but I’ve developed an urge – a need actually – to understand where I’ve been and where I’m going. I don’t want to waste another day just letting things happen.
“Spiritual discernment” is what the real scholars call the process of seeking and understanding God’s will and direction. And it’s more than just a process; it’s a gift from God that comes hand-in-hand with His gift of the Holy Spirit.
Some scientists and theologians believe that the earliest humans were naturally spiritual, relying on a “sixth sense” to sustain themselves. But with the development of thought, language and ambition, humans began to disown their spiritual selves, relying on their minds instead. This led to new ideas and choices, including choices that were wrong and even evil. While the creation of religion and law helped emerging societies maintain order at an intellectual level, it took God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to fully reunite us with our inherent divine spirit.
“The mystery of Pentecost is that the gift of discernment is breathed into the world, enabling us to see the presence of the divine in the midst of the human – not as an aside or an afterthought, but as the main event of our lives,” writes Lutheran pastor and author Jay C. Rochelle.
While discernment is woven throughout the Old Testament scriptures, in the New Testament we see how the Holy Spirit transforms ordinary wisdom into divine wisdom. In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul says, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Spiritual discernment isn’t needed for every decision we make. Common sense tells us how to feed and shelter our family, but spiritual discernment may lead us to trust our welfare to God and give more boldly through His church to help others. A friend can recommend a self-help book, but the Holy Spirit may lead us to go back to school or make a life-changing career move. A travel agent will help us plan a vacation, but spiritual discernment may guide a decision to spend the time and money on missions work instead.
“Discernment is not a function of the mind; it’s a function of the Holy Spirit which is in union with your soul/spirit,” says Dr. Neil Anderson, founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. “When the Spirit sounds a warning, your mind may not be able to perceive what’s wrong. Have the courage to acknowledge that something is wrong when your spirit is troubled.”
Once we acknowledge a troubled spirit about something, we can pursue discernment by tapping into many of our other spiritual practices:
Prayer, meditation, solitude – spending time with God, asking for direction and listening for His response.
Scripture study – reading the Bible, not for specific answers but rather to understand the priorities of God and the Holy Spirit.
Counseling – going to others we trust, sharing our concerns and listening to their input and advice. We shouldn’t seek the complete answer from them, but should add their wisdom to what we are understanding through prayer and study.
How do we know when we have accurately discerned God’s will, or we are at least on the right track? We may get some signs:
• a chance encounter with just the right person
• a persistent thought or conviction
• a scripture that comes to mind and stays with us
• something we hear in a conversation that sticks with us
• an opportunity suddenly opens up
• the more we try to stop something, the more unstoppable it becomes
The most telling sign of discernment is that when we finally surrender to a decision and humbly accept it as God’s will, we are filled with a sense of peace and contentment that is even more powerful and inescapable then the troubled feeling we once had.