Spiritual
Discernment
The greater good of all
by
Phy
Spiritual discernment, in part, is the use of
our common sense or conscience to determine right from wrong,
good from bad, or whether or not our actions have true intentions
of the greater good of all. It involves praying and listening
for guidance from God, watching for signs, following intuition,
and striving to acheive a stronghold on clarity and truth about
God's presence in our life.
We all live in God's Spirit. It is when we awaken
to this fact that we are then able to begin to focus on our
own spirit and its interaction with the Holy Spirit. It's during
this growth that we learn to love, trust our faith, and take
action to improve our intentions and goodness. But it's important
that we learn to listen to our own spirit before attempting
to guide others in their spirituality. We need to know what's
in our own hearts and why it's there. We need to understand
what brought us to the convictions we live by. We need to know
if, when, and how we listen to our own spirit before blindly
grabbing on to the beliefs of others as the truth, because truth
not only has many faces, but many paths.
As we learn and grow, and become comfortable with
our own spirituality, it's also important to listen to the wisdom
and knowledge gained by others. This information should serve
as a prime example of the many facets of truth. Our spiritual
elders and anyone who has previously travelled the path we have
embarked upon can be an ocean of knowledge that can assist our
endeavors, if we merely listen with an open mind. Often God
may lead us in surprising and unexpected ways to these people
when He feels we need a bit of guidance. He may interweave His
guidance into our daily lives. He sometimes does this in such
a way that the divine nature of His help is so deeply blended
into our daily activities that only those who are truly living
in His light will recognize His awesome presence and the fact
that He has intervened.
To practice discernment, we need to take the time
and energy to pray on a regular basis and think about how our
actions or attempts to help others may actually affect those
around us. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I really believe God works in human life?
- Do I really believe God works in my own life?
- Do I really believe God communicates with me?
- Do I really believe I can communicate with God?
- Are my actions really working for the greater good of all?
- Is this what Jesus would do?
Often, our peception of God changes, just as how we pray changes,
but our goal should always remain the same: To be fully alive
in God.
We must remain open to the Spirit, desire the will of God,
and walk in humility.
