278: Step 2: How Can We DISCERN God’s Voice Over the Chaos of Our Emotions?
In today's episode, we're diving into step two of the ADD process – Discern. Join me as I share the importance of discerning truth from lies, how we can clarify these truths through emotional management tools, and the importance of growing in our ability to hear God’s voice so He can help guide us through life’s challenges. Remember that we need to trust His truth over emotion – no matter what we may feel.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
[01:19] Why Is It Important to Discern Truth From Lies?
[04:08] “God Promises to Give Clarity And to Help Us Clarify Truth From Lies”
[06:34] Do You Have a Crack in The Foundational Trust With The Lord?
[10:00] God's Truth is Superior to Any Emotion That We Have
[11:26] Want to Learn How to Apply This Step to Your Emotions? If So, Join The Book Launch Team for Emotional Confidence!
[01:19] Why Is It Important to Discern Truth From Lies?
Today we are discussing step two in ADD (Acknowledge, Discern and Decide). In this step, we are partnering with God to clarify our emotions so that we can discern the truth from the lies – using a statement like: “It is true that XYZ, but it is not true that XYZ.”
In the last episode, 277: Step 1: How Can We ACKNOWLEDGE Our Emotions Without Letting Them Take Over?, we gave the analogy of managing emotions is like walking into this messy closet. Step one is where we see everything in this messy closet and acknowledge what is there.
In this step, we put on our “spiritual truth glasses” to see what we need to keep, what we need to throw out, and what is true and untrue. Although Scripture is our guiding force, it does not mean we need a verse for every truth. We can say “My husband loves me and it is not true that he thinks XYZ” because this truth is evident in other areas of our lives. We can also see things in “discern” like black-and-white thinking, unrealistic expectations, or other connections as to why we might be feeling a certain way. So again, in step one, we are acknowledging what is there and in this step, we are looking at it and separating the truth from the lies.
[04:08] “God Promises to Give Clarity And to Help Us Clarify Truth From Lies”
To hear God's voice through this, we need to be doing the work beforehand of allowing our minds to be cleansed by His truth. We have to know what Scripture says, connect with God through Bible time, and have a relationship with Him. This does not mean we have to check a box. It means growing in a relationship with God where we continually put His word into our minds so we know what is right and wrong.
God promises to give clarity and to help us clarify truth from lies. That is the point of us continuing to stay in fellowship with Him and other believers. We see evidence of this discerning Spirit that He is always developing inside of us in several scriptures:
Psalm 119:125 says, “Give discernment to me your servant; then I will understand your laws”
Proverbs 1:4 says, “These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.”
Psalm 119:169 says, “Oh Lord, listen to my cry. Give me the discerning mind you promised.” Sometimes it can feel very confusing to know what is true and not true. We can ask the Lord for a gift of the Holy Spirit to give us the ability to discern what to do, what is right, and what is wrong.
Hosea 14:9 says, “Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right and righteous people live by walking in them.” We have a choice as to what we are going to do when we see his right or wrong path laid out before us. We can have this discernment and we have to choose to make the right choice with it.
[06:34] Do You Have a Crack in The Foundational Trust With The Lord?
When it comes to discernment and seeing truth, some things can get in the way. If you think about radio broadcasting, there could be issues with the tower, maybe there is a storm moving through, or you are too far away to hear that broadcast. This is also what can happen when we have trust issues with God. I want to tell you that this is so common.
About 95% of the women I work with in coaching come to me with some type of trust issue with the Lord. Even the women who go to church every week, love Jesus and have been in every Bible study. It is so easy for all of us to allow these little cracks in our foundation of trust in the Lord to develop.
It is okay if this has happened to you. When we have developed trust issues, it can be hard to hear God’s voice and use discernment.
If you are thinking, “How do I invite God into my emotions and inner thoughts?” I encourage you to dig into this area of trust. You can start by asking Him what are the things that you have allowed to build up inside of you that have kept you separated from Him. We read the Bible and it is really easy to focus on those verses that talk about how Jesus is our best friend and that He wants to give us His love and compassion. These are 100% true but we cannot miss the fact that in order to be close to the Lord, hear His voice, and have His blessing, we need to make sure we are staying obedient to Him.
If we are in habitual sin, that is going to keep us from hearing His voice and following His truth. God can reveal what is true and untrue about a situation or emotion, but if we are not going to listen then it is not going to make a difference. Of course, we all sin and make mistakes every day. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but at the same time, He forgives us for those sins and invites us to start over.
[10:00] God's Truth is Superior to Any Emotion That We Have
Sometimes people are afraid of the acknowledge step because they feel like if they lean into an emotion and see why it is plausible, then they will get lost in the emotions. But the reality is, if we do the first step of acknowledge, and then this step of discern, it is a counterbalance. They weigh each other out and then we can make a wise decision on how we want to handle it (which is the third step we will learn more about next week)!
Although this step is a counterbalance, I want to remind you that God’s truth is superior to any emotion we may have.
[11:26] Want to Learn How to Apply This Step to Your Emotions? If So, Join The Book Launch Team for Emotional Confidence!
If you want to learn more about this emotional management tool and how to apply it to your life, get my book Emotional Confidence: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science and Scripture. You will also learn how to use this process to manage emotions and relationships, ways to apply it to specific emotions, and how to build lifestyle habits to make it easier for you. This book goes into all of that very clearly and helps you know exactly how to do all of those things.
Here are two ways that you can get your hands on the book Emotional Confidence:
1. You can preorder it wherever books are sold and they will automatically send it to you the day it launches
2. You can Join The Book Launch Team and get a pre-order copy and other fun bonuses!
If you want to join the book launch team, it is simple and all you have to do is:
–Pre-order Emotional Confidence on Amazon
-Share about the book in some capacity whether that is on social media or with a friend
-Once the book is live, write a review on Amazon or Goodreads
In return, book launch team members get an early-reader copy of the book plus other exclusive bonuses! This book will help you learn how to discern the truth around your emotions, so grab a copy of Emotional Confidence to learn this emotional management tool and so much more!
RESOURCES:
Tired of up-and-down feelings stealing your peace, sabotaging your relationships, and filling your mind with self-defeating thoughts? If so, make sure to join the launch team for my new book, “Emotional Confidence: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science and Scripture”, coming November 12th!
RELATED EPISODES:
271: (New Book!) Emotional Confidence: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science + Scripture
272: Healing from the Shame of Unprocessed Emotions in Your Life and Relationships
273: Overcome the Fear of Managing Emotions with 4 Empowering Truths
274: Are Emotions Sinful? How Can We Honor Emotions While Also Honoring Biblical Truth?
275: How Can I Name What I’m Feeling (When My Emotions Feel So Overwhelming)?
276: Do This BEFORE You Process Your Emotions (Emotional Prep)
277: Step 1: How Can We ACKNOWLEDGE Our Emotions Without Letting Them Take Over?