With the Risen One Is the Gift of Discernment

 

With the Risen One Is the Gift of Discernment

By Mari Anne Andersen

Director of Freedom House Ministry

Easter, 2026

 

He is risen, hallelujah!  He has risen indeed!  With the resurrected Holy One, Jesus Christ, many things come alive in this season of resurrection, including power, life, and liberty.  On this side of eternity, I pray that the good news of His resurrection will touch your spirit in a way that springs hope eternal.  Reviving faith where it has grown weary, restoring joy where it has been dimmed and renewing strength where it has been lacking so that you can experience this power, life, and liberty.

Just as Jesus rose from the grave, so too can the gifts of the Spirit that have been dormant or slumbering can be awakened and stirred within us.  One of these gifts I believe the Father is wanting all His children to see activated, motivated and initiated is the gift of “Discernment.”  I believe this is a gift that is underdeveloped and malnourished—in other words undernourishment in and of the Holy Spirit to practice discernment.  In this article I would like to challenge YOU to see that this gift of discernment is deeply needed in our time and in our lives walking through this life.

So, what is the gift of discernment, why did Jesus release this gift to His children, and what does Scripture say?  Here are a few Scriptures to ponder.

1. 1 Corinthains 12:10 – Discerning of spirits.
2. 1 Corinthians 12:7 – Given for the common good.
3. Hebrews 5:14 – But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
4. 1 John 4:1 – Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits.
5. Phillippians 1:9-10 – That your love may abound…with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent.
6. Matthew 24:24 – Warns of false prophets and deception in the last days, and the need for spiritual vigilance and discernment.

The gift of discernment is the spiritual ability to perceive, distinguish, and judge between truth and error, good and evil, or God’s will, which is led and guided by the Holy Spirit, versus human reasoning.  The gift of discernment is also called discerning of spirits, which is a supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to believers.  It enables Christians to perceive and recognize if a message or action is from God, the enemy, or human reasoning. This helps us navigate life with sound and wise spiritual judgments.

I believe that many Christians today are lacking in the gift of discernment as well as churches.  I also believe that this gift is so necessary for all believers to understand the times we are living in. Why? Because we are living in a world where not everything that looks good is good, not everything that sounds spiritual is from God, and not everything that feels right is right.  And friends, we don’t need more information.  What we need is spiritual discernment.

We are living in such a fast-paced world overflowing and inundated with information and communication from social media and culture in every direction.

• God’s word tells us that He guides the righteous.
  • How?— Through discernment.
• He tells us to test all things and recognize what is good and acceptable.
  • How?—Through discernment.
• He tells us to move into maturity, growing in understanding of deeper spiritual truths.
  • How?—Through discernment.
• He tells us to recognize excellence and what aligns with God’s purposes, separating what is fleeing or harmful from what is eternal and righteous.
  • How?—Through discernment.   

Friends, discernment is not just knowledge.  It is spiritual insight, wisdom, and comprehension that trains us, strengthens us, and anchors us in God’s wisdom, enabling and empowering us to navigate life with clarity, confidence and alignment with His will.

God empowered us with this gift of discernment because He knew the world we would live in would be a world flooded with chaos, crisis, and confusion.  He knew we would be confronted with information, advice, and ideas that look right, sound right, and seem right, yet are in fact deceptive and harmful.

Hear my heart. The fervent cry I carry for is for the body of Christ—the believers who are misguided, who are carried away with deception, whose spiritual compass has been misdirected.  My prayer, my exhortation is that YOU do not allow yourself to be led into the muddy waters of pain, deception, and destruction.

In counseling, I see so many whose gift of discernment has been neglected, slumbering, or buried.  Spiritually, it has grown lazy, because instead of engaging with God directly, they rely on the words of other leaders, pastors, and churches without testing or weighing them against the truth of God’s Word.  They fail to step into the gift of discernment through the Holy Spirit, and they do not practice the biblical call to test all things and hold fast to what is good.  This reliance on human opinion rather than God’s guidance keeps them spiritual stagnant and vulnerable to deception.

Discernment in scripture is not just “one” gift, but it shows up in three main ways:

1. A spiritual gift (discerning of spirits)
2. A mark of maturity
3. Something you grow in through wisdom and the Word

To me, the Word of God clearly intended believers to develop, practice, and grow in discernment and NOT to ignore it.  Hebrews 5:15 – “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”  (ESV)

This verse undoubtedly emphasizes that spiritual maturity comes through practice.  Discernment isn’t automatic.  It is developed as believers continually engage with God’s truth, apply it, and learn to recognize what is good versus what is not aligned with His will and His Word. We need to be engaged with God’s ways and the only way we know who He is, what He stands for, and what His heart is saying is to seek Him, to spend time with Him, and to love His word.

Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers.”   (ESV)

Verse 2:

• “…his delight …” This is deeply relational and not just instructional.  Delight means more than obligation; it speaks of joy, desire, and affection.  This is a hunger and thirst for God’s Word.
• “…in the law of the LORD…”  This refers to God’s instruction, His Word, His ways, His heart revealed to us.  It’s not just rules, but guidance that leads to life.
• “…on his law he meditates day and night.” This means a continual returning to truth.  It’s not about nonstop reading, but about dwelling on it, turning it over in the heart, and applying it in real life.

Verse 3:

• “He is like a tree…” This life is rooted, stable, and not easily shaken.
• “…planted by streams of water…”   This means the source is constant.  This person is not dependent on circumstances for nourishment; they are sustained by God Himself.
• “…that yields its fruit in its season…” This means growth and fruitfulness comes in right timing when we need it.

Therefore, when someone truly delights in and meditates on God’s Word their discernment deepens, their stability deepens, and their fruit becomes evident growing into a mature son and daughter that is truly transformed from the inside out.  As Psalm 1:1 starts off by telling us “…Blessed is the man…” who delights in and meditates “in the law of the LORD.”

However, discernment is not automatic for the believer. It is formed and nourished by being directly tied to how deeply we lean into God’s heart, His Word, and His ways.  You truly cannot separate discernment from intimacy with God.  The more you know Him, the more you know his Word, the more clearly you recognize what is NOT Him—discernment.

What if God asked you, “What do you want Me to grow in you?”  Would you ask for discernment?  This would be a wise choice because we are living in a time where discernment is not optional but is essential.

Every voice today can sound compelling, whether in politics, in culture, in religion, and even in the health arena.  Arguments are often persuasive on the surface. Therefore, we cannot afford to passively receive what we just hear or read.  We must take these four specific steps:

1. Bring everything before the Lord in prayer and ask for discernment.
2. Test what is said and what you hear against Scripture.
3. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
4. Be willing to slow down to truly hear His heart.

A final thought:  Discernment keeps us anchored and stops us from outsourcing our hearing what God is saying and instead cultivating our own sensitivity to His voice.  This will move us from spiritual passivity into spiritual maturity.

Now we are in the Easter season of resurrection where things long buried are called back to life.  For the Risen Lord Jesus Christ is truly risen and His victory is not only over the grave, but over every place in us that has grown dormant, passive, or hidden.

I pray in His mighty name, the Risen One, Jesus Christ our Savior that in this hour, the gift of discernment within you would be awakened and that what has been lying dormant would be stirred by the power of His Spirit just like in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, you will be rising up and stepping out of the tomb into spiritual maturity.

Just as Jesus came forth to resurrection life, so too you are invited to come forth alive, aware, and active by His Presence so that you will cultivate discernment, not as something distant, but as something living and active within you.  Consequently, your spirit will be sharpened to recognize truth, to walk in alignment with His Word, and to carry the fullness of resurrection life in Jesus’s name.  Amen and Amen!

In closing, your financial gift, at this special time of year, will enable us to keep moving forward in all that the Holy Spirit has for us as leaders of Freedom House Ministry and for those the Lord brings to us for prayer ministry through His power.  We cannot do this on our own.  Join with us in this season of Resurrection Power with whatever the Lord lays on your heart to give as we lead folks into biblical discernment and freedom.  We also covet your prayers as they undergird all that the Lord calls us to do in our counseling and in our schools.

No gift is too small or inconsequential.  You can go online to http://www.freedomhouseministry.com/make-a-donation/ 

Sending much love and blessings in this glorious and wondrous time of resurrection and a time of new life, new beginnings and biblical discernment.

 

OR:

Send a check made out to “Freedom House Ministry” to Freedom House Ministry, c/o The Andersens, 652 THUNDERBIRD TRL, CAROL STREAM IL 60188-9262 

With My Heart of

With My Heart of Love and Gratitude,

Mari Anne Andersen

Director, Freedom House Ministry