How can I get better at spiritual discernment?

"We have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." —1 Corinthians 2:12 (NLT)

Many choices we encounter in life aren't directly addressed by the Bible—especially those related to entertainment, technology, or modern culture. Sometimes there's no obvious right or wrong choice because people and situations change constantly. When we come to these decisions in life, we can exercise our spiritual discernment to find God's truth in the matter.

Spiritual discernment is using biblical understanding and God's wisdom to differentiate if something is godly, ungodly, and what may be neutral. Discernment also helps us examine how any existing circumstances may affect how we answer those questions. In a sense, discernment is a sort of "spiritual reasoning" that is guided by the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual truth is not always immediately evident to everyone in the room. While speaking to His disciples about the Pharisees, Jesus said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given" (Matthew 13:11). As believers, we have access to God's wisdom, and we would be wise to use it!

How do I access God's wisdom?

"When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you." —John 14:26 (NLT)

The Holy Spirit is our key to knowing and understanding God's wisdom—especially in the Bible (John 14:26). Those who have accepted Jesus have the Holy Spirit living within them (Acts 2:38). Without our Advocate, the things of God will never make sense (1 Corinthians 2:14). And it's the Holy Spirit who helps us make the best possible choices that would be both pleasing to God and most beneficial to our lives.

For example, there's nothing inherently sinful about doing hobbies, watching movies, or even playing video games. But there are many factors that may affect whether or not certain activities or entertainments are beneficial or harmful to us personally, our faith, or our relationships.

Part of growing in our faith is being discerning about how we spend our free time. Some things are good for us while others are not, and knowing the difference is vital. Also, just because something isn't outwardly "spiritual," that doesn't make it automatically wrong either. That's why we practice spiritual discernment.

How does spiritual discernment work?

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future." —John 16:13 (NLT)

Spiritual discernment is something we develop over time, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and by becoming familiar with God's Word. You must have those two things together—the Holy Spirit PLUS the Bible (John 14:26). The more we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him, the easier it'll be to hear Him when He reminds us of what we've learned in God's Word and when He convicts us for or against something.

Remember that this is a learning process and a skill that we develop. There are a lot of nuances in life, which is why we need to be able to tell the difference so we can stay on the best path. We aren't going to be perfect at it, and it'll take lots of practice to get better at it. So let's see some practical examples so we know what practicing spiritual discernment looks like.

Spiritual Discernment: Example 1 (Negative)

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." —Galatians 5:13

You decide to watch the movie you've heard great things about. As a believer, you should actively gauge whether this movie would be beneficial, neutral, or harmful to you, your faith, and your relationships. Let's say, about 40 minutes in, the action becomes ultra-violent. Limbs are being hacked off. The movie is quickly turning into a blood bath riddled with profanity.

Maybe now the Holy Spirit reminds you of Galatians 5:13 and nudges you with these thoughts: "This is going to give you nightmares" or "You're becoming desensitized to the profanity" and "This isn't a movie for you right now." If you listen to the Holy Spirit, then you decide not to finish the movie. You did nothing sinful in watching it up to that point. And when you were convicted to turn it off, you did. That's using spiritual discernment!

Spiritual Discernment: Example 2 (Neutral or Positive)

"'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be dominated by anything." —1 Corinthians 6:12

Perhaps you got none of those warnings because you've dealt with those issues already with a past movie. You've examined yourself and have discerned that you aren't personally convicted against watching violent movies. Upon earlier self-reflection, you know they don't affect you or your thoughts negatively. The violence isn't going to make you violent, and you aren't going to start dropping f-bombs because that isn't a part of your personal speech patterns.

The Holy Spirit reminds you of 1 Corinthians 6:12, and you're convinced that you're definitely strong in your personal convictions about profanity and violence IRL. You can enjoy this movie for the story and entertainment.

Spiritual Discernment: Example 3 (Awareness)

"Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother." —Romans 14:13

Now you're watching the same movie with your friend. You aren't bothered by it, but you can clearly see your friend is picking up the language or they're squirming a bit in fear. The Holy Spirit reminds you of Romans 14:13 and says, "This may be OK for you, but it isn't for them." So you turn it off.

And you don't make your friend feel bad for how they responded. Instead, you ask what they'd like to watch instead. You've practiced discernment because you listened to the Holy Spirit and obeyed. You're aware that violent movies may be a stumbling block or a fear for your friend, and they aren't something to share with this friend in the future.

Honing Discernment Skills through Training

"...solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." —Hebrews 5:14

Throughout life, we'll learn a lot of things through experience, education, applying our knowledge, and using logic to solve problems. Those are all awesome things, but God's wisdom comes from knowing Him and His Word and obeying the Holy Spirit—over and over.

Practicing spiritual discernment helps you learn to hate what is evil and love what is good (Romans 12:9). Having good spiritual discernment will help protect you from temptations to sin and from unknowingly putting yourself into sinful situations. Talk to God as you go through this process, asking Him to help you develop your discernment as well (James 1:5; Philippians 1:9).

The Holy Spirit is like a "spiritual trainer" for believers, but we have to be a part of the process! By studying the Bible, we can learn what real righteousness looks like, thus learning to recognize both truth and falsehood. By regularly practicing spiritual discernment, we can improve our discernment skills, thus moving toward a more righteous life and faith.

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