Discernment Versus Discretion

Discernment is not a human ability, rather a supernatural power that is carried out through us and for us by the Holy Spirit.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩.”— 1 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 2:14 𝙉𝙄𝙑

This verse is saying that without God’s Spirit working through us, we cannot understand “things that come from God.” This means, without Him, we’re using human discretion when presented with options and choices, NOT discernment. 

—> Discretion leans entirely on our own limited understanding, which is all molded by our earthly experiences. Even if these experiences have produced valuable knowledge, the process of “using discretion” is human-like in nature, not spiritual.

—> Discernment is a supernatural force facilitated by the Holy Spirit and relies entirely on trusting in God. When we allow Him to move through us, we become a vessel for His wisdom to guide our steps. 

We can only access and utilize true spiritual discernment once we have submitted to God’s will for our lives, since He’s the one who holds the power to discern, not us. Without Him, we’re flying blind.

If we’re following any “voice” that is not God’s when deciding what is correct for us, we’re lacking His spiritual wisdom in all our steps. This leaves us susceptible to making poor life choices, and completely vulnerable when making spiritual-based choices.

Those who have not accepted the Holy Spirit to dwell within them, allowing God to unfold His will in their lives, cannot trust their own “intuition.” Yes, that voice could be infiltrated by faux gods and demons… but even if it’s not, it’s still a human voice (yours) that has been influenced and hurt by this world. Is that the voice you really want to follow? 

God’s will is not some “other category” of life path choice. He knitted us together and knows us better than we know ourselves. He creates perfect, customized paths for each of us! The truth is that when we’re in alignment with Him, His will is always our will too.

Discernment is not only a divine guidance system, it also covers us with Holy protection. If God is navigating us through life, nothing in this world can harm us. We have authority over the schemes of the devil.

“𝘽𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙄 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮: 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”— 𝙇𝙪𝙠𝙚 10:19 𝙆𝙅𝙑

I encourage you to lay down the tedious burden of trying to move all the pieces of your life without God’s divine intervention. We needn’t be conflicted or afraid about where to go or what to do! 

We can all rely on the powerful voice of our Lord to beautifully flow through our minds and hearts like a chorus of Heavenly direction. We can fully trust in Him all the days of our lives!

“𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜; 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨.”— 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙨 3:5-6 𝙉𝙆𝙅𝙑

With Love, Michelle