Discernment is not a feeling but a knowing Episode 1

A new series called Eyes to See on discernment is extremely important today.  Discernment is the most misunderstood, most neglected and most necessary gift in the body of Christ.  Episode one will build the foundation and what discernment is and why it so urgently needed today.  

This podcast is a companion to my new book, Eyes to See - walking in wisdom and clarity and is book 4 in my series Thrive & Wholeness.  Go to loisflewelling.com or amazon to get your copy.

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There's a level of walking with God that most believers never reach. Not because God is withholding it, but because no one ever taught them how to see what he's already showing them. You felt it. A moment when you knew something before anyone told you. A room that shifted the second you walked in. A conversation where every word sounded right. But something underneath it just didn't sit well with you. You've had access to more than you've realized. It just didn't have a name for it. It's called discernment. And it's the door to a new level. Welcome to a new level with you. I'm Lois for Wellington. And if you're new here, this is a space where we can talk about what it actually looks like to grow. Not just in knowledge about God, but in nearness to him, clarity with him, freedom in him. Because I believe in everything in me that no matter where you are right now, no matter how far you've already come, with a new level available to you. Today I'm gonna do something a little different. I'm opening a brand new series, and it's one that's close to my heart. Closer than almost anything I caught before. Over the next couple episodes, we're gonna walk through the subject of discernment. What scripture actually calls the gift of discernment spirit? I believe it's one of the most disruptive and most neglected, the most necessary gifts to the body of Christ today. This series is a companion to my book, I to see. And here's how I want you to think about it. The podcast is the door, the book is the room. Each episode is going to open something up for you, give you real teaching, real scripture, real stories. But I'm not gonna hand everything over to you in these episodes. Some of what I've learned, some of what has changed my life, it's only in those pages. My hope is that this series creates a hunger in you that the book is written to satisfy. There is a new level of seeing available to you, and it starts with learning to trust what God has already been showing you. Or maybe the opposite. You sat in a service, a conversation, a quiet moment, and felt this something settle over you. You felt this is holy ground. You didn't reason your way there, you didn't weigh the evidence, you just knew. Well, that's not a coincidence, and it's not a personality quirk. That's a gift, and most of us have completely misunderstood it. Maybe you had a moment like that and talked yourself out of it. Maybe somebody told you it was just anxiety and you were being dramatic, or you need to be a little bit more gracious, and maybe some of the time that was true. But what if some of those moments were something else entirely? What if they were the Holy Spirit speaking through a part of you that most of us were never taught to listen to? Today we're going to slow down and actually look at what scripture says discernment is. Not what culture says, not what our feelings tell us, but what does the word of God actually says? And before we're done, I'm going to show you exactly what it looks like in action through the life of someone who used it with real consequences. Well, welcome to Eyes to See the podcast. This new series I'm doing on discernment. I'm Lois Fwelling. And over the next 10 episodes, we're going to talk about one of the most misunderstood, most neglected, and most necessary gifts in the body of Christ. And yes, I just mentioned it. It's discernment. This podcast is a companion to my book, Eyes to See. But I want to be up front with you. I'm not going to give you the whole book here. Some of what changed my life or what I believe will change yours as well is only in those pages. But what I want to do on this podcast is open the door, chapter by chapter. We're going to walk right up to the threshold of what discernment really is. And then I'm going to invite you to walk through it yourself. Today's episode is a longer one because I want to build this foundation carefully. We're going to look at what the Bible actually says discernment is. And we're going to look at what a real example is in Scripture. And we're going to talk about why this matters right now in your life. So let's start where we always should, not with an experience, but with the word. And here's where I want to begin because I think we've gotten this wrong for a long time. We live in a generation that trusts emotions more than almost anything else. If it feels true, we treat it as true. If it feels wrong, we treat it as wrong. And somewhere along the way, we start calling that discernment. It isn't. We've confused discernment with suspicion. We've mistaken it for intuition. We've let feelings dress up and walk around wearing discernment's name. And the cost has been real. False teaching has gone unchallenged because nobody could say exactly why something felt off. Demonic assignments have gone undetected because we were waiting for a feeling that never came. While the actual warning signs were right in front of us. Paul tells the church in Corinth that discerning of spirits is a gift of the Spirit. Scripture isn't vague about this. 1 Corinthians 12, 7 through 11 says, But the manifestation of the Spirit is giving to everyone for the profit of all, to another discerning of spirits. But one and the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills. That's not intuition, that's not a personality trait. Some people have and others don't. That is the Holy Spirit distributing a specific gift on purpose. So it's not a feeling. If it's not, then what is it? Well, let's kind of answer that question. I want to do something we don't do enough of when we talk about spiritual gifts. I want to slow down and let the text define the term for us. Instead of letting our culture or even our emotions define it. Hebrews 5 14 says, But solid food belongs to those who are full age. That is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Notice what this verse ties discernment to, not a personality type, not a spiritual elite maturity and use. Your senses are exercised, trained by reason of use. That means discernment is not something that only some Christians are born with. Next, Paul, writing to the Corinthians, names it specifically as a gift of the spirit to another discerning of spirits. First Corinthians 12, 10. The Greek phrase here is plural. Interesting, it means distinguishing of spirits. But let's take a look at this. Something that people kind of miss. Discernment isn't something we do, it's something the word of God does for us or to us. In Hebrews 4 12, it says, For the word of God is alive and powerful, and sharpens than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Read that again. The word of God is a discerner. Before we ever exercise this gift towards anything outside of us, scripture is meant to discern what's inside of us. That's an important guardrail. Discernment that isn't anchored in the word isn't discernment, it's an opinion with a better branding. Paul also connects discernment directly to love in his letter to the Philippians. Philippians 1, 9 and 10. And this I pray that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense in the day of Christ. Discernment that grows out of love has a purpose, to approve what's excellent, not to catch people, not to expose anyone around us, to prove, to recognize and affirm what's good, true, and of God. That reframes the whole posture of this gift. Then John gives us a direct command, not a suggestion. 1 John 4:1 says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirit, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Test. Now that's an active word. Discernment isn't passive, it isn't waiting around for a bad feeling to show up. It's actively engaging, actively testing what's in front of you against the truth of who God is. And finally, I want to take you back to the Old Testament, to a young king named Solomon. Right after he took the throne, God appeared to him in a dream and said, Ask for whatever you want. Listen to what Solomon asked for. 1 Kings 3:9. Therefore, give to your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours? Out of every possible request, wealth, long life, victory over his enemies, Solomon asked for discernment. And scripture tells us that request pleased the Lord more than any other request could have. So let's put this all together. When scripture uses the word discernment, it is describing a spirit-given, word-anchored, love-rooted ability to test what's right in front of you and correctly identify its true source. Not an emotional reaction, not a hunch, a supernatural knowing built through use, governed by love, and anchored on the word of God. So let's go back to that Greek word for a moment because it changed the way I understood this gift. The word Paul uses for discerning of spirits is diakris, which means distinguishing, a judging between, a thorough separation. Now, pair with the word for spirits, pneuma, it describes something very specific: the supernatural ability to look into what's unseen and correctly identify what actually is operating in a person, a room, or a situation. Not guess, identify. That word alone should tell you this isn't about having a hunch, it's about seeing clearly. The same root, by the way, that gives us the English word crisis. A discerning of spirits is in a sense a moment of judgment, a dividing between what's happening and what only appears to be happening. So before we move on, let me just pull this together once again. Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit, it's connected to spiritual maturity, it's modeled by the word of God, it's rooted in love, and it's commanded, it's not optional. And it is the one request that Solomon pleased God above any other request he could have made. That's the biblical foundation. Now let's talk about why does this matter so urgency right now? I'll show you actually what it looks like to put it into practice. So Paul warned Timothy and he didn't hedge. He said, Now the spirit expressively says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and the doctrine of demons. 1 Timothy 4 1. He didn't say not might, not could. The spirit expressively said it. It's gonna happen. Paul then further went on with Timothy in verse uh 2 Timothy 3 1 through 5. It says, But know this that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, having a form of godliness, but denying his power, and from such people turn away. Jesus himself warned that deception in the last days wouldn't look obviously evil, it would just look convincing. Matthew 24, 24 says, For false Christ and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Great signs and wonders, not obviously fake, convincing. That's exactly why discernment can't be a feeling. Feelings can be impressed by a convincing performance. Discernment sees past the performance to the source. Jesus also compared our days to the days of Noah and Lot. And here's what strikes me every time I read it. People kept living like everything was normal right up until it wasn't. See, that's the danger of undiscerned days. Life goes on as usual until it doesn't. But that's not where the story ends. God also promised that in these last days he would pour out his spirit. Joel 2, 28. And it shall come to pass afterwards that I'll pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and declared that this promise was being fulfilled right now in front of the crowd, and it's still being fulfilled now. While deception is increasing, so is revelation. God is raising up a generation of believers who know his voice and recognize his hand. Discernment isn't a luxury for people who happen to be spiritually sensitive. It's armor, it's intelligent, it's for you. And here's where it gets practical. And I'm only going to give you the outline today. And that's where the book goes even deeper. Scripture tells us that when we are discerning what's happening in a person or a situation, we're really sorting between three possible sources. There's the divine, the movement of the Holy Spirit, the voice of God, the activity of heaven. There's a demonic, the influence of evil spirits, principalities, seducing spirits. And then there's the human, the soulish realm, where fear, pride, and old wounds dry behavior that can look spiritual, but isn't. And here's why that matters so much. If you mistakenly which of the three you're dealing with, if you misidentify those, you will misapply this solution. Someone who needs healing gets treated like they're needing deliverance. Someone who needs truth gets treated like they're needed confrontation. I walk through exactly how to tell these three apart in the book because getting this wrong doesn't just fail to help people, it can wound them. For now, just sit with this. Not everything you feel unsettled is demonic. Not everything that stirs you is defined. Discernment is what cuts through the fog. Think about how differently you respond to a friend who keeps canceling plans, depending on which one of these three it actually is. If it's human, fear, exhaustion, an old wound around rejection, that friend needs patience and truth spoken in love. If it's demonic, an assignment of isolation working to cut them off from community, that needs prayer and authority. And if by some chance it's actually divine, God pulling them aside for a season of rest or preparation, that needs your support, not your pressure. See, same behavior, three completely different responses, and that's why this matters. I want to give you a biblical example, and I think it's one of the clearest pictures in all of the scripture of discernment because it shows that it's not a feeling, it's a knowing that leads to action. It's in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are in the city of Philippi, and Luke, who is traveling with them, records this in verses 16 through 18. Now it happened as we went to prayer that a certain slave girl possessed with the spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune telling. And this she did for many days. People rush past. What was this girl actually saying? She really was saying something true. These men are servants of the Most High God, they proclaim the way of salvation. That's accurate. That's not a lie. And she did it for many days, not once, not a single dramatic outburst in a day, day after day. This true statement followed Paul through the streets of Philippi. So here's a question this passage forces us to ask whatever she was saying was true. What was the problem? Because discernment was never about whether the words were true, it was about the source. Paul wasn't discerning the content of her sentence, he was discerning the spirit behind it, a spirit of divination. Luke tells us the same kind of spirits associated with fortune telling and pagan oracles in that culture. True words, wrong source. And a wrong source left unaddressed will eventually pull people toward it, even while it says things that sound completely correct. I want you to watch what Paul does next. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out that very Very hour. Notice the timing. Luke is Luke tells us as she followed him for many days before Paul acted. This wasn't an impulsive reaction to an annoying sound. Paul didn't turn around one day because he felt irritated. Scripture says he was greatly annoyed, but notice that annoyance is mentioned right alongside the action, not the cause of it. Paul had discerned what was actually happening long before the emotions caught up. When he finally turned and spoke, he wasn't reacting to a feeling. He was acting on a knowing that he had been, that had been confirmed over time. That's the pattern we're talking about. Discernment identified the source. It didn't happen instantly, and it wasn't driven by irritation. And when Paul finally acted, he addressed the spirit directly, by name and by authority. Not the girl, not her words, the spirit behind them. That simple moment in Acts 16 holds almost everything we've talked about today. A gift of the spirit operating with maturity, not driven by emotion, correctly identifying a source that sounded right but wasn't. And it resulted in real freedom for the per person involved. That's discerning of spirits in action. So before we close, I want to leave you with something to actually take with you this week. Not just listen to and forget. I want you to think about the last month. Is there a moment that comes to mind, a conversation, a room, a decision where something just kind of rose up in you that you couldn't fully explain? Maybe you dismissed it. Maybe you called it a mood or nerves or overthinking. I want you to ask the Lord a simple question about that moment. Was that you? Not to manufacture significance where there wasn't any. Remember, not every stirring is divine, but to actually open the door to the possibility that the Holy Spirit was speaking to you in a language you haven't been trained to recognize yet. That's really what this whole series is about. Not teaching you to be suspicious of everything around you, but teaching you to recognize the voice of God when He's already speaking. Because He is, more often, than most of us realize. So here's where we'll leave it today. We looked at what scripture actually says. Once again, discernment is a spirit-given, word-anchored, love-rooted gift, matured through use, modeled by the word itself, rooted in love and commanded. And above all, it's requested. We watched how God Paul used it in action. And I want you to give you something before you leave. Discernment is not a feeling that comes and goes with your mood, it's a knowing that comes from the Spirit of God and it holds steady when your emotions are telling you something else entirely. If this episode has stirred something in you, and if you had a moment like the one I described where you know something before you could explain it, I would encourage you to pick up a copy of Eyes to See. It walks you through some of this. And then next time on this podcast episodes called Eyes to See, this series, we're going to talk about the one thing scripture says is the actual foundation of discernment. And it's not what most people expect, is the fear of the Lord. So, Lord, bless every one of them that is hearing today. I pray a blessing. I pray their eyes to open up so they have clarity, they will be able to uh see, Lord God, what you want them to see. I pray for discernment, Lord God, to be expanded in their lives and so that, Lord God, you become more prominent and they can know and understand. And that you, oh Lord, will reveal great and mighty things to them. And I thank you, Lord, for blessing them all today in Jesus' name. I'll see you next time. Listening to this episode of Eyes to See. If something here has stirred you today, I want to invite you to go deeper. Eyes to See is available now on Amazon and it's just one part, one book of my Thriving and Wholeness series. I've written five books to help you move from surviving to thriving in every area of life. Tenacious Warrior, get some strength for overcoming life's trials. Then freedom after betrayal for healing, restored trust, and renewed purpose. I updated it for because it's about divine encounters, it's about intimacy with the Lord. Encounters that will change your life forever. Book four is the one we're going through right now. Eyes to see for wisdom, discernment, and spiritual clarity. And book five, my latest one, my newest release, is intentional. And that one discusses how we can live every day with purpose and power. You can find all five of these books, along with many more teaching and resources at lowest below.com. I want to thank you for being here. I want you to just encourage you to keep pursuing the giver more than the gift. Keep asking him to open your eyes to see. I'll see you in the next episode.