Discernment 101
A common pitfall for people who are learning to hear God’s voice is not remembering that the enemy of their souls also has a voice. That voice can be extremely persuasive, appealing, and even appear to be spiritual or godly. It is critical for our own well-being that we learn the difference. The ability to tell the difference between the source of the voices is called discernment. Discernment is one of the most lacking elements of the Church today. The enemy loves it, because when we don’t have discernment, he can bring destructive voices and lies into our lives—and we voluntarily accept what we hear because we think it is actually God speaking to us. God’s truth sets us free, and lies keep us in bondage. If a Christian never learns to operate in discernment, they will never experience all of God’s freedom that is available, and they will certainly remain in bondage in every area where they continue to follow other voices.
Part of the reason that many fall into this pit is that they don’t consciously think about the reality that they have an enemy. I’ll never forget one of my university textbooks, written by a knowledgeable Christian scholar, which openly said, “Demons aren’t found in America. They are only found in places like Africa.” I could hardly believe what I was reading! Sadly, many well-meaning Christians think this way, as if there isn’t an enemy. But listen to what Peter wrote about this matter in the Bible: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9, NIV). Humanity has a very real enemy, an enemy that hates every person because they are made in God’s image. This scripture says that he is not dormant or passive. Our enemy is not just an idea. And he is looking for someone to devour. I’ve often heard people joke about this passage and say, “Yeah, but you don’t have to worry, because he’s just a toothless lion.” That is foolishness. Peter says that we need to be alert and sober-minded, resisting him and standing firm against him because he is a very real threat. And you’ll notice another description of our enemy here: he is like a roaring lion—not a quiet one, but a vocal one. Part of how he brings destruction to the lives of believers is through the sound of his voice.
I think it would be obvious to anyone that listening to a demonic voice would be a bad idea. But here’s the thing: most of us don’t understand that when he speaks, it’s not obvious. Satan has mastered the ability of speaking to us in ways that sound, look, and feel just like God. Without discernment, many Christians fall for his deception every time. “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). If the forces of hell were obvious in their deception, it would be easy for anyone to resist the lies. But demonic forces love to be camouflaged and undetected. It’s a tactic of warfare that we see even in human militaries. If your enemy can keep you from knowing they are there, they have the advantage. And if camouflage doesn’t work, disguises do. Pretending to be on your side is a proven way to breach the defenses and make you let your guard down. How did Satan speak to Jesus? Was it with outright lies? No, he used the scriptures and tried to use them to tempt Jesus. (See Matthew 4 and Luke 4). As spiritual and Godly as any of those quoted (and perhaps misquoted) scriptures were, they were not the leading of the Father. Jesus was able to tell the difference, and He was victorious over the voice of the enemy. And that is the kind of discernment that you and I desperately need for our own lives.
One of the things I’ve learned about discernment is this: discernment is like a muscle. You can live a lifestyle that causes your discernment to grow, or you can ignore its importance and find that your discernment becomes weaker and weaker over time. For sure, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit relates to discernment, the discernment of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10). But I think it’s very important for us as believers to realize that, even if God has given you a gift like that one, He expects you to take what He’s given you and grow it, not just leave it the same. (That’s the major point of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.) My point is this: discernment isn’t something that God just gives you and then you’re set for life. Rather, discernment is something we need to cultivate and grow in our lives.
Hebrews 5 expresses it this way: “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (vv. 11-14, NASB1995). Notice that last line. The mature actually train their senses to discern! And how does that training occur? It occurs through constant use. They are aware that God has good things to speak and that their enemy has evil things to speak, and they are constantly pressing in to tell the difference. You cannot discern if you never know you need to. And you will not discern unless you try to discern.
One of the most important tools in learning to discern is by reading and meditating on the scriptures! “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:14-17). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
The people who grow in discernment that fastest, the ones who are the sharpest in their abilities to discern, are those don’t try to do it alone. You will grow so much faster if you spend time with those already walk in a high level of discernment. The road out of infancy is to imitate those who are mature and learn from them. That’s why God gives babies to parents. And that’s why God has designed spiritual family for those who have been born again. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:5-6, NIV). The Father heart of God has caused Him, in His wisdom, to place us in families so that we can grow! He does this with our natural families and with spiritual families. He does not want anyone to be left as an orphan. (Satan, on the other hand, loves the state of the orphan, as they are defenseless against his attacks.) If you want to have strong, sharp discernment, it is imperative that you commit to learning from those who already have it. If you have a spiritual family, stay in the house! Don’t choose to be alone.
Over the years, I’ve been fascinated by wildlife, and I’ve studied their behaviors. There generally are two categories of animals: prey and predator. What was it that Peter compared our enemy to? He compared the devil to a lion, an apex predator. Lions and other predators often have two things in mind: they kill prey animals to eat, and sometimes they kill prey merely for sport. There are countless videos of predators doing just that. The problem for lions is that it is very difficult for them to sneak in and make a kill when their prey is in a herd. In a herd, there are simply too many eyeballs watching out for danger. The herd’s level of discernment is maximized when they are together. So what does the lion do? The lion’s tactic is simple and successfully repeated over and over again: isolate one animal away from the herd. If a lion can isolate an animal from the group, it is a done deal. The lion is stronger and faster, and it will easily overcome the prey that is by itself.
Lions are usually successful in isolating one animal from the herd by seeking out the young or the injured. When Peter said that we need to be alert and sober-minded, it is because of these very real spiritual parallels that we can learn from God’s creation. The enemy of our souls often goes after the young—the infants that Hebrews 5 says are lacking in discernment. And he also goes after the injured, which represents those who feel that they have been hurt by the Church or who have become offended. The injured ones often lose their ability to discern the impending danger because they are focused on their own wounds! These two types of people are easily susceptible to attacks from the enemy because he can so easily separate them from the group. This is the reality for lions and sheep, wolves and elk, killer whales and seals, and satan and Christians. The tactic and the heart-wrenching results are the same.
As someone who has been in pursuit of discernment for many years, let me give you a tip. If you think that God is telling you to leave your church, to stop fellowshipping with your spiritual family, or to pull away from spiritual leaders in your life, immediately question what you heard. Be alert and sober-minded. No matter how spiritual it may have seemed when you heard it, understand that the tactic of the enemy is always to isolate you! This is especially true if you are still a young believer (i.e. not a leader yourself) and know that you have a lot to learn about the Lord. And this is especially true if you recently have experienced pain, rejection, disappointment, or disillusionment. In these cases, your ability to discern is not as high as it needs to be. You were designed to be with the herd, with your family, where there are many sets of eyes watching out for what can cause harm and where to find food, water, and shelter.
If you hear a voice or feel a leading to disassociate with your church family, your pastors and leaders, or those who have been instrumental in helping you grow in God, you should immediately put your guard up. It doesn’t matter how spiritual the word, vision, or experience seemed, you must be sure that you are exercising discernment and not being fooled by the enemy. Just like Jesus, we need to be extra on-guard and understand that the enemy knows how to mislead us, even using scripture at times. Paul said, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). When you think you’re hearing a word or feeling a leading, you’ve got to take that thought captive and find out if it really is from God and if it really is in line with obeying the words of Jesus! No “prophetic word” you receive should ever cause you to disobey the scriptures. “Prophetic” words are important, but they are susceptible to us hearing incorrectly or from the wrong source. Scripture, the very sword of the Spirit, is clear and helps us cut through the confusion quickly so that we can tell what is of the Lord and what is not.
Here are some scriptures that cause me to immediately toss out “prophetic” words about walking away from my spiritual family or leaving my church:
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don’t need you!’… God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body…Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:21-27).
“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:4-5). “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall” (Luke 11:17). “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:17).
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith….Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you” (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace…. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” Ephesians 4:2-3, 14-15).
I find it impossible to obey these scriptures when I’m on my own. If I cannot obey these scriptures thoroughly when I follow a word that I think is from God, that is a tell-tale sign that it never was a word from God. Sure, it probably was spiritual, but it was not the Holy Spirit speaking. It was from a different Spirit. And once I realize that these voices are trying to isolate me so that they can destroy and devour me, I run to my brothers and sisters in Christ as fast as I can.
Now, to be clear, I do believe there are rare occasions that God may lead a person to a new place. Some of the clues that this truly is from Him are the following:
I will not be isolated or alone where I’m susceptible to attacks from the enemy or temptations.
The leaders who watch over my soul and my church family who know my weaknesses and blind spots can confirm that I’m being led by the Lord, and they are sending me with their blessing.
I’m not just “leaving” because of the bad. I’m going toward a group of people and a calling that God has shown me are part of His plan to help me grow and become mature in the Lord.
I’m able to fully obey the commands in scripture about fellowship, unity, submission, and love.
I’m making the transition for the purpose of keeping the Kingdom of God and righteousness as the first and highest priorities of my life, not for inferior reasons such as my career, romance, education, or entertainment.
I’m spiritually mature enough to make this decision.
I’m not making the decision following pain, rejection, disappointment, or disillusionment with my church or people who are part of it.
Remember how we were talking about the lion trying to attack prey? Here’s something fascinating. When lions try to attack an animal in the midst of a herd, the mature members of the herd have been known to band together and attack the lion. The lion doesn’t get to eat, and sometimes it is the lion that dies! When the young, weak, or injured animals remain in the herd, the strength of the other in the herd is there to protect them. This is what God intends for us! We have the benefit of the discernment and strength of our spiritual family added onto our own lives—and at some point, we get to to supply strength and discernment to others. The result is life for those who are in the herd. The following video is one that I pray strengthens you in your walk with the Lord, your understanding of spiritual warfare, and your spiritual discernment.
There is so much more that can be said about discernment, and I’ve only scratched the surface with a few examples. But these are important truths to understand, and I pray they are helpful in your own growth into maturity as a disciple of Jesus.
Perhaps the things I’ve written here are already in your understanding. Maybe you are very aware that you have an enemy. Maybe you are aware that of the importance of knowing the difference between the enemy’s voice and God’s voice. And maybe you are not tempted at all to isolate yourself from the heard. But you know what? You probably are going to meet someone in the future who doesn’t know any of these things. God may use you to help rescue them from their own lack of discernment and the destruction that could await them. You may even know someone right now who is in this situation, unaware that they are right where Satan wants them. I challenge you to learn, internalize, and own these principles of discernment so that you can teach and share them with others. And perhaps, you may find it useful to even share this post with others. It could make all the difference for their lives. Discernment is truly an a matter of life and death.
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John Gabriel Arends