Who do you say you are?
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I once heard a saying, and I am not sure where it is from, but it is as follows: “If you want to know more than what God is pleased to tell you, then you commit the sin of Adam and Eve”.
As Catholics, we are well aware that God does not show us everything. Often, He shows us enough to make us step back. Spiritually, He gives us warnings, but due to our human nature, we become impatient while we desire visible proof. This impatience and anxiety about the future sometimes drives people to seek out mediums and psychics, which God clearly forbids for good reason, because He knows the devil can imitate anything and anyone. He can’t create, so he imitates. Anything to gain your attention on the enemy in a way that you don’t realize you are doing it.
Discernment is your gut instinct. You notice a feeling before a conversation comes to a close. Before a critical decision was made. Before anything actually happened. You thought you were being overly sensitive. Reading into a person or conversation more than you needed to…. or you rationalize that you were just having a bad day and thinking catastrophically.
The truth is that the Holy Spirit was alerting you.
The Holy Spirit does not limit how He moves you to act. You will not always receive a sense of peace as a signal. He will make you uncomfortable especially through your senses, particularly in a dangerous or sinful situation-- as in Hebrews 5:14: “But strong meat is for the perfect; for them who by custom have their senses exercised to the discerning of good and evil.”
I am certain every reader of this article has experienced a sense of unease at some point in time when being in the presence of certain people or situations. Recall your inability to relax, or a disturbed feeling inside your body that manifested in somatic symptoms such as stomach and headaches, chills, cold sweats.
The Holy Spirit is not outright explaining to you that you need to walk away or protect your space. But He is guiding you through the recognition of your bodily responses and feeling of uncertainty. Your discernment is directing you to understand what kind of motives another person has toward you, and if this interaction is not good for you emotionally and physically.
I believe our spirit recognizes the spirit of others, which is why we may find true friendship in Christ in this vale of tears called life. In these instances, we have a sense of joy and calm. Our minds are not understanding what we are dealing with just yet, but our spirit does. If an evil spirit is operating in another person, that person may hate you for no apparent reason and something stirs inside your mind that whispers--steer clear, watch out!
Have you ever attempted to remain agreeable in a situation where your spirit is disturbed, to keep the peace, to avoid seeming judgmental? Perhaps much later you realized the truth, and you decided not to doubt the promptings of the Holy Spirit in these types of situations any longer?
It’s essential to understand that when you are discerning, you are not accusing. You are protecting. Yourself, and others maybe.
So, what can we learn from the Holy Spirit’s promptings to discern people and situations? In Matthew 7:7, it states, “ask and you shall receive” …. God knows our hearts, and our desire for truth and justice. That being said, keep your antenna up at all times. Do not silence what God keeps signaling. Do not doubt yourself and your worthiness in God’s eyes.
God created you to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in these tumultuous times of deceit and betrayal, praying for discernment of the truth will keep some doors closed that need to stay closed in your life, but will open the ones that God has created just for you to enter because Our Lord states that “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.”--John 10:10. God wills us to have an abundant life, and the Holy Spirit waits patiently for us to seek his assistance in all things big and small in our lives. There is nothing too trivial for the Holy Spirit, He loves us with an everlasting love!
A former educator, Joanie felt she could better serve others in the spirit of Christ in the mental health field as a behavior therapist specializing in Cogntive Behavior Therapy. Joanie has experience assisting others in identifying and overcoming unhelpful behavior patterns arising from trauma, unhealthy intergenerational family dynamics, and various forms of abuse. Joanie is a wife, mother, and a grandmother foremost, a member of the Militia of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (St. Maximillian Kolbe), a third order Benedictine and the Confraternity of St. Peter. An avid runner and fitness enthusiast, she keeps in her mind always: 2 Timothy 4-7--" I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith".
Check out my other articles on https://lovefraud.com/author/johannam31/
