Discernment vs. Suspicion
Julian Adams • November 8, 2018
Are you operating in discernment, or are you just suspicious? Partnering with Heaven means seeing the gold in someone and calling it out. Instead of seeking out the bad, let’s be prophetic people who help each other find their God-given destiny. Music: Bensound.com
– TRANSCRIPT
So I wanted to take a moment just to chat with you about the gift of discerning of spirits. Often I hear guys talk about this in the context of someone that they’re referencing, and really, it is a character assassination rather than trying to understand what’s going on in the unseen realm.
It’s really important that we understand what the gift of the discerning of spirits really is about. Because in our day, I often hear Christians communicate in such a way that actually undermines and devalues the original purpose and work of an individual. The Bible tells us in Corinthians that the gift of discerning of spirits really is about figuring out what’s going on in the unseen realm, what spurs in operation. Are they angelic spirits? Is it the Holy Spirit, or it a demonic spirit?
We’ve become so accustomed to recognizing the demonic that we’ve forgotten that actually there are more angels than there are demons. Our expectation should be in any given context, in any given moment where we’re dealing with people, that somehow the angelic is involved because we showed up, because we carry the atmosphere of heaven.
Not only that, when I think about the discerning of spirits, what I’m looking for, really, is to be able to see into someone’s life and see how I get to partner with what God’s doing there so as to free them and to walk them into a place of incredible purpose and destiny. This means I have to ask God, “What do you see? How do you see them? And what are the things that you’ve got planned for them?”
One of the key things that I see specifically with Christians who tend to be more sensitive to the realm of the spirit is that often we can confuse suspicion with discernment. The thing about suspicion is suspicion is connected to fear, fear that something bad’s gonna happen or that someone’s gonna do something bad to you. And suspicion creates a context of consistently doubting somebody’s motives, somebody’s intentions for us.
And the reality is that when we see each other through the lens of who God is, through the lens of our Christ like nature, rather than operating in a place of suspicion, we need to operate out of a place of confidence that God will lead us. I have once heard someone say this so beautifully, that openness does not lead us into deception. Sin leads us into deception. So it’s okay to be open. It’s okay to test things. It’s okay to feel things up, but never come at it with a suspicious spirit because suspicious really is about a level of fear in your own heart that God wants to deal with.
Get rid of fear. The Bible says that perfect love casts out all fear. And when we’re loving the one in front of us, rather than being suspicious, we’re gonna choose to see what God sees and look for the gold, look for the purposes of God in them. And where I do sense something demonic, I get to partner with heaven in rejecting and rebuking that thing, rather than coming into an agreement with fear or being paralyzed with someone else’s bad behavior when actually God has given me the authority to speak intellect and to change things in a Christ like way.
And so, I wanna encourage you, when it comes to the discerning of spirits, when it comes to discerning in general, let’s not go for the bad. Let’s go for the gold. Let’s look for what God is doing.
If you want to grow in the prophetic, it doesn’t begin with what you say. It begins with what you see. The prophetic is rooted in perception. Not just natural insight, but spiritual awareness—what Scripture calls “the eyes of your heart.” Paul prayed that the church in Ephesus would have their hearts enlightened so they could truly see what God was doing. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you…” (Ephesians 1:18) God isn’t distant or withholding. But if we’re going to hear Him clearly, we have to see differently. We need Heaven’s perspective. And that means learning to quiet the noise, tune into His voice, and let Him train our inner vision. You don’t need to wait for a dramatic vision or audible voice. Often, God speaks through a nudge. A mental picture. A scripture that lingers. A sense of burden or joy that feels holy. These are the first signs that your spiritual eyesight is awakening. But it takes time. It takes attention. It takes trust. Just like physical muscles grow with use, your spiritual senses grow as you spend time with Him—not just talking, but listening. Not just asking for answers, but asking for His perspective. You were never meant to live according to what the world says is true. You were meant to live by every word that flows from the mouth of God. A Prayer for This Week: “Lord, open the eyes of my heart. Teach me to see what You see—not just in others, but in myself, in my circumstances, in the world around me. Give me clarity and confidence to trust Your perspective more than my own. Amen.” This week, pay attention to what you notice. The way you see is often the way He speaks.
In this live session, Sean Smith and Julian Adams share their prophetic perspectives on 2025, offering honest reflections on what they sense God is doing across the earth. With hope and expectancy, they discuss the spiritual landscape ahead and how we can prepare for what’s to come.
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