“Discernment is not a spiritual gift. Discerning of spirits is.” | Ponderings of a Pastor
Key Thought | True discernment isn’t about judging what makes us uncomfortable; it’s about recognizing and honoring the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Key Scripture | “He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.” – 1 Corinthians 12:10 NLT
I’ve heard people say before that they have the “gift of discernment,” only to discover that what they really possess is the gift of judgment. And I think we can all agree—that’s not a gift any of us want to receive.
Scripture actually never lists discernment as a spiritual gift. What Paul describes is the discerning of spirits:
“He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.” —1 Corinthians 12:10
The purpose of this gift isn’t to criticize people or shut down things that make us uncomfortable. Its purpose is to help the church recognize what is truly from the Spirit of God and what is not.
And if we’re honest, many times what we end up criticizing is simply something we’ve never experienced before.
I remember telling our staff recently to be careful about criticizing something they’ve never operated in themselves. It’s easy to judge what feels unfamiliar. But unfamiliar doesn’t always mean wrong.
Paul was writing these words to the church in Corinth—a church that, quite honestly, was a mess. There were all kinds of chaotic and out-of-order things happening. Yet Paul didn’t respond by shutting everything down. Instead, he patiently helped them learn how to honor one another and recognize what God was doing among them.
Jesus described the work of the Holy Spirit like this:
“The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” —John 3:8
The Spirit moves like the wind—free, powerful, and often beyond our ability to fully explain. People who truly desire to live lives led by the Spirit are what I like to call wind chasers.
I remember a man in our church many years ago who had just surrendered his life to Jesus. He was brand new to all of it. He hadn’t grown up in church, hadn’t heard debates about the Holy Spirit, and hadn’t been around long enough to become cynical.
He was simply hungry for more of God.
One day while running around the loop in Wilmington, he began praying and asking God for everything He had. In that moment, the wind suddenly picked up and blew straight into his face. As it did, he sensed the presence of God in a way he never had before.
That day he encountered the Holy Spirit, and it changed his life.
That’s what I pray for my sons and for our church family: that they would truly encounter Him. Because once you do, it changes everything.
The truth is, there are many people who would rather understand the Spirit than experience Him.
But the Holy Spirit was never meant to be contained or explained away. He was meant to lead us.
So while some try to capture the wind, I’ll just chase it.
Prayer | Holy Spirit, give me a heart that is humble and attentive to Your voice. Guard me from quick judgments and help me recognize when You are moving, even in ways I may not fully understand. Teach me to trust Your leading more than my own need to explain everything. May my life remain open to Your presence and willing to follow wherever You lead. Amen.
Reflection:
Key Scripture | “He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.” – 1 Corinthians 12:10 NLT
I’ve heard people say before that they have the “gift of discernment,” only to discover that what they really possess is the gift of judgment. And I think we can all agree—that’s not a gift any of us want to receive.
Scripture actually never lists discernment as a spiritual gift. What Paul describes is the discerning of spirits:
“He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.” —1 Corinthians 12:10
The purpose of this gift isn’t to criticize people or shut down things that make us uncomfortable. Its purpose is to help the church recognize what is truly from the Spirit of God and what is not.
And if we’re honest, many times what we end up criticizing is simply something we’ve never experienced before.
I remember telling our staff recently to be careful about criticizing something they’ve never operated in themselves. It’s easy to judge what feels unfamiliar. But unfamiliar doesn’t always mean wrong.
Paul was writing these words to the church in Corinth—a church that, quite honestly, was a mess. There were all kinds of chaotic and out-of-order things happening. Yet Paul didn’t respond by shutting everything down. Instead, he patiently helped them learn how to honor one another and recognize what God was doing among them.
Jesus described the work of the Holy Spirit like this:
“The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” —John 3:8
The Spirit moves like the wind—free, powerful, and often beyond our ability to fully explain. People who truly desire to live lives led by the Spirit are what I like to call wind chasers.
I remember a man in our church many years ago who had just surrendered his life to Jesus. He was brand new to all of it. He hadn’t grown up in church, hadn’t heard debates about the Holy Spirit, and hadn’t been around long enough to become cynical.
He was simply hungry for more of God.
One day while running around the loop in Wilmington, he began praying and asking God for everything He had. In that moment, the wind suddenly picked up and blew straight into his face. As it did, he sensed the presence of God in a way he never had before.
That day he encountered the Holy Spirit, and it changed his life.
That’s what I pray for my sons and for our church family: that they would truly encounter Him. Because once you do, it changes everything.
The truth is, there are many people who would rather understand the Spirit than experience Him.
But the Holy Spirit was never meant to be contained or explained away. He was meant to lead us.
So while some try to capture the wind, I’ll just chase it.
Prayer | Holy Spirit, give me a heart that is humble and attentive to Your voice. Guard me from quick judgments and help me recognize when You are moving, even in ways I may not fully understand. Teach me to trust Your leading more than my own need to explain everything. May my life remain open to Your presence and willing to follow wherever You lead. Amen.
Reflection:
- Are there ways God may be moving that I’ve been quick to question or criticize simply because they feel unfamiliar to me?
- What would it look like for me to live with a more humble and attentive posture toward the Holy Spirit this week?
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