Discernment is a notoriously tricky part of walking in faith with God.
It is the process of gaining wisdom and clarity through prayer and “listening” for direction from God. As this relies on the good judgment of the person doing the discerning, there is a lot of room for error. Rather than something we are born knowing how to do perfectly, discernment is a skill that takes time to develop through a relationship with God, frequent time spent in prayer, and feedback from trusted Christian leaders (parents, grandparents, pastors/priests).
These are some subtle signs to look for when honing your discernment skills:
1: Something feels “off”.
An important part of discernment is sitting with your question for a period of time. It is not a quick, gut reaction type of process. You have to have enough space to notice any quiet rumblings in your heart that the action you are considering doesn’t feel right, or conversely, to notice that everything feels aligned when the topic comes up. This time may also help you realize what alternate options exist. The bigger the question you are asking, the more important it is not to move forward until you aren’t conflicted about what the right thing to do is.
2: You keep seeing a particular Bible verse.
Often, when we are stuck we’ll find that a certain verse keeps presenting itself to us. It may be in our devotional reading and then the subject of a homily at church and then posted on a friend’s social media page. Repeatedly seeing the same verse can be a hint that this is something you need to consider in your life. A general rule of thumb is to wait until something pops up three times before assuming it has a discernment-related purpose.
3: You feel the urge to keep secrets.
Feeling the urge to keep something a secret happens when we aren’t confident that we acted in line with our integrity or when we value the wrong people’s opinions. If you are doing your best to do the right thing, there is no reason to keep your actions a secret. In fact, your decision could be publicized and you’d feel confident explaining your rationale. There is nothing to hide. You feel other Christians would notice your best efforts to be Godly, even if you end up making a mistake. Perfection isn’t possible. What is possible is taking the time to choose based on faithful interpretation of the instructions given to us in the Bible, using discernment as a guide when it comes to grey areas.
4: You notice troubling physical sensations.
Sometimes we get a physiological signal that we are acting against discernment. Some people will get an upset stomach when they do something they subconsciously know they shouldn’t. Take time to look for discomfort, tension, shallow breathing, shaking hands or other signs your body and your mind are not in agreement. When you are correctly using discernment, your mind and body should feel at peace.
5: You gave in to a false sense of urgency.
People make poor decisions when under pressure. This is why sales people are always rushing you to act before you have time to consider the transaction logically. Anyone who wants you to make a good decision more than they want you to do what benefits them will be happy to give you time. Urgency is often a warning sign that the person setting an arbitrary time limit is not interested in you doing what is right. If acting quickly is unavoidable in your situation, it may not be the best time to rely on discernment. Here, it would be more appropriate to rely on the explicit word of God as written in the Bible or the advice of your church leaders.
6: The action you are considering is not in line with your principles.
This is obvious, but the easiest way to know something isn’t for you is if you have to go against your morals. Sometimes, an offer can be so tempting we ignore this first step and look for loopholes to convince ourselves we can do what we want to do rather than what we know we should do. This also may be something you don’t realize until after you’ve made a decision. Fortunately, few things in life are final and you can seek out advice from trusted Christians about how to redirect onto a more Godly path.
