Have you ever dreamed up a mission but wondered whether the idea came from God or from your own head?
Obviously, discerning God’s voice correctly is essential to the Christian life. The task used to intimidate me, but through the years I have learned that discernment is not the stress-inducing puzzle I once thought it was. I have found that whenever I am living in tune with the spirit and spend time with God daily, I recognize his voice like a sheep recognizes her shepherd. Whenever I do not devote myself to prayer and self-examination, I make lots of mistakes. There are so many voices that can lead us astray- pressure from peers, expectations of family members, the prince of lies himself, accusations from abusers, and our own loud pride.
Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life taught a lengthy sermon on how to test all those voices and distinguish God’s. I pasted a video of the sermon below, but if you prefer an overview, I wrote that up too.
Warren recommends testing perceived callings by asking the following questions,
- Is the call scripturally sound? If you sense a call that lines up with prescriptive scripture, you are likely on the right track. If a new idea is rooted in ambition, envy, pride, etc., that one is not from God. A few of my go-to verses include James 3:16-17, Romans 12:9-21 & Colossians 3:1-17.
- Is your urge rooted in conviction or condemnation? God draws us with compassion; He never drives with guilt.
- Do you feel pressure and confusion or peace from the Spirit? God never compels.
- Does wise counsel confirm it? Another theologian said, “When God sends, first there will be an inward push from the spirit, then an outward pull from godly encouragers.”
- Is it consistent with your design? God built you with certain giftings, abilities, and interests and He usually doesn’t tell people to operate outside of those. Microphones make poor spatulas and laptops suck at shoveling. Most counselors avoid paperwork and a lot of administrators run from the stage. Just because an endeavor is good does not mean it is meant for you. Ex: Not everyone is called to social work. Not everyone is called to adopt.
- Does it make you more Christ-like? Throwback to 1999 and ask yourself, WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)? I once journaled after reading Philippians 2:5-8. “We should not choose to be lowly just because we are low, although that should be reason enough. But because the One who is high chose to become low for us and told us to do likewise.” God Most High became a mere mortal and died for us. How much more should we serve our brothers impartially? Do what He would do.
Obedience doesn’t end at discernment. Be ready for God to tweek or change your mission. He may bring you to one duty for a time and lead you to another in a later season. 1 Thessalonians 5 instructs us to pray without ceasing- no assumptions.
