Discernment
We are all subject to a number of influences. Especially in this modern day with the advent of the internet and smart phones. There are endless streams of influence, musings, and media we can be instantly sucked into, the moment we pick up that little machine.
“When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
When Jesus was alive and spoke these words, the competing “voices” heard by people were probably less. I suppose they heard “inner voices” as well as the voices of people at the temple, the local watering hole, in the city, in their homes- voices of physical people at physical places.
With all of the benefits and opportunities today’s instant communication offers as well as all of the noise and pitfalls, discernment is all the more essential.
How do you know if you are listening to a voice that is helpful or harmful? The “voice” in your head telling you to do something, especially when confirmed by the external world by “signs” and encouragement, can be extremely misleading.
Here are two ways to discern if this is a voice you should be listening to and obeying.
“Listen,” or more specifically, FEEL, what is going on in your body (a). when you’re tuned into this voice; and (b). when you act on what this voice suggests. Do you feel a sense of compulsion or freedom? Do you feel a sense of contraction or expansion? Do you feel lighter or heavier? Do you feel anxious/sick or happy/good? If you feel contracted or weird in any way, that is the wrong voice. Stop listening.
If you do start to walk down the path this voice is leading you on, are you still able to hear the voice you normally listen to, or is that voice harder to hear? If your normal, every day intuition and inner prompting that tells you how to go about things is now harder to hear or silent, you are listening to the wrong voice. Abort mission.
Personally, I didn’t realize how much of my life is dictated by the “true voice” or the “Shepherd’s voice” until it got super quiet on me! It normally directs many of my actions, even how to do things or say things. Even technological things. It gives me insight and helpful suggestions that make my life easier and make me more effective.
When I realized the inner noise had gotten so loud that I couldn’t tune into that “guiding voice” very well anymore, I knew something was off. I was off-track. Wrong shepherd. Wrong gate.
And as to the “gut intuition or feeling” - that is an ancient practice. Our guts are one the oldest parts of our bodies, evolutionarily speaking, they have tons of neurons, and are actually an intelligent part of our body. If they are telling you something is off- then something is off.
In summary, discernment can be tricky. Signals can get crossed. But you can discern the voice of light from the voice of darkness. First of all, pray! Pray in and over everything. The Good Shepherd loves when we approach Him in prayer.
And you can definitely try “gut feeling” and “comparative listening.” These are tried and true in my humble experience.
