Is it of God or Not?
How do we know if something is from God or another spirit? The Pharisees struggled with the question in John 9. Some Pharisees were convinced the blind man was healed because only God could do such as thing. Others said it was not of God because Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath. They need no more evidence than this.
We can be tempted to judge poorly because of misconceived notions. Using the healing of the blind man to illustrate the point, we might not misjudge as the Pharisees did, as likely we were not brought up in a culture that strictly follows resting on the Sabbath. However, we can have other preconceived ideas. Perhaps we judge others because they worship differently than we do. Perhaps they are not as reverent or celebrative as we are. Maybe they have behaviors that we have deemed unchristian when there is no evidence that God has said this is so.
Good discernment begins when we have an authority greater than ourselves. If not, we can look to ourselves for the truth. But we would be missing the mark. What we need to do is look to God. Bringing something greater than ourselves into our thoughts can lead us to a better understanding. The one true God judges the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of others. He knows everything about them. We do not.
How does God lead us to use discernment? It comes from being free from looking to ourselves for all the answers and being open to God. Having given us His grace in Christ Jesus, God frees us to look to Him as a response to His grace.
As we connect with God, we grow in discernment. As we are told in 1 John 4:1, we are to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” Testing the spirits means one must read and understand the Scriptures. By looking to God’s word, we can see whether the spirits and our inclinations and decisions are in harmony with the God who loves the world through Jesus Christ. With this life focus, we gain more clarity and an improved ability to determine if something is of God or not. There is a God and it’s not us.
