The Gift of Discernment

As we learn to listen for the voice of God, we also find ourselves dealing with the issue of discernment.  Not every thing we hear being spoken from within originates with the Creator.  The Word of God does speak of a spiritual gift which tends to take us in that direction.  In I Corinthians 12:10 there is a listing of spiritual gifts which is likely not an exhaustive list, but one which points us toward the many gifts which come from God and in that listing we find ",,,the discernment of spirits." 

 

This particular passage does seem to point us toward a Holy Spirit given ability to tell the difference between the presence, the works, and impact of good and evil spirits.  And, as such it is a valuable gift from God, but to speak of discernment in a broader sense may open up our understanding to include the whole of life and not just a part of it.  As we speak of discernment in the context of listening for the voice of God, we are reminded that there are many voices out there as well as within which seek to be heard.  What one of us has not prayed and prayed so hard that we became convinced that the object of our praying was the will of God only to realize later it was more about what we wanted instead of what God wanted for us? 

 

Listening for the holy voice requires being able to discern when it is our own voice, our own desires, and our own agenda that is speaking to us.  Many a person and many a religious community has gone down a dead end street due to an inability to discern between a voice that came from our ego and one that came from the Spirit.  As we begin to learn to listen, we must be open to the trial and error of discernment.  And, like any lesson learned from trial and error, mistakes will be made.  But, the important things will not be the mistakes, but the lessons learned.