The Gift of Discernment

Discipleship Devotional, March 6th, 2025

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges [discerns] all things, yet he himself is judged [discerned] of no man.”
– 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 (KJV)

The gift of discernment is one of the gifts of the Spirit at work in most believers, even when they don’t know it. Most call it other names: some call it an inward witness, others call it intuition, and some describe it as “something was telling me not to go in that direction.” Well, that “something” is the Holy Spirit working the gift of discernment in us, and we are not to ignore it.

In our anchor text, the Bible uses the Greek word “anakrino,” which means to judge and discern. It is used in verse 14 when he says the things of the Spirit are “spiritually discerned.” Then he repeats it in verse 15 when he says the spiritual man judges (discerns) all things. So it is an innate ability for a believer to discern. At times, this gift manifests as a “red light” within you, where you know not to go in a particular direction. This is not the same as anxiety and paranoia. In fact, many times when discernment is working, there is no outward reason that raises any doubt about that situation.

This gift has saved many from being duped out of money; it has saved others from marrying the wrong person, etc. Ignoring this gift can be catastrophic. Many have had this nudge in their spirit about a situation, but because there was no outward reason to doubt, they went ahead to their peril. We continually read stories of people who married spouses to their detriment after ignoring that inward discernment.

Don’t despise this. Many who have done so have lived in regret because of it. Always walk in discernment. The Bible speaks of Jesus, saying that He knew the hearts of men. He discerned all men. He couldn’t be deceived. Walk in this reality today. The spiritual man discerns all things.

Prayer:

Help me, Heavenly Father, to pay attention to Your Holy Spirit. Help me to walk in discernment. Thank You, Father.