The Secret to Increasing Your Discernment: Why Confusion is Actually Disobedience

Right now, we are living in incredibly confusing times. You are inundated with information, trying to make major decisions about your finances, your health, your relationships, and your future. As a pastor for the last two decades, I’ve facilitated hundreds of pastoral counseling meetings, and I’ve noticed a pattern. Many Christians love to hide behind the exact same excuse.

They sit across from me and say, “I don’t know what to do. I’m just confused.”

Let me tell you the truth I’ve learned over all these years of faithful shepherding. Most Christians are not confused. They are disobedient.

Most Christians are not confused. They are disobedient.

We know what to do, but we lack the faith to do it. The root isn’t necessarily rebellion—it is fear. Fear is keeping an entire generation bound, preventing them from stepping into what God has called them to do.

I was talking to my 19-year-old daughter, Bella, the other day, sharing stories from my twenties and thirties. I thought I was dropping some fatherly wisdom on how to navigate the complexities of modern culture. I really thought I was equipping my daughter. Then, all of a sudden, she looked at me and said, "Dad, as you have figured all those things out over the many years of your life, is it hard for you to trust God? It seems to me like you've gotten really good at figuring things out for yourself. Probably the more you figure things out for yourself, the less you are able to trust God."

Rebuke taken, my young Padawan.

But it’s true. When nobody gave me money, I just went out and made money. When nobody could help me, I helped myself. I became more confident in me, and ironically, it made it harder for me to trust God. When your level of trust in God is low, your anxiety levels skyrocket because you are relying on your own limited strength and mental capacity.

Why "Trust Your Heart" is a Demonic Deception

Every single one of us is leaning on something. Disney tells us to "trust your heart." But the Bible reveals that your heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. Wouldn't it be the ultimate luciferian, demonic agenda to get an entire generation to trust their heart when Satan knows our heart is a lie factory?

Proverbs 3 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. The problem is that we trust God with only some of our heart. If you only trust God with 60% of your heart, you have a war going on inside of you. You are double-minded.

A double-minded person is unstable in all their ways, not just some of them.

What does it mean to be double-minded? It means you have one mind that believes you should steward your finances, stick to a budget, and give your first fruits to God's storehouse. But your other mind screams "YOLO," and you swipe that Chase card until you get notifications just because you're stressed and needed a $300 shopping spree at H&M. You believe both things at the same time, which makes you spiritually unstable.

Escaping the Illusion of Your Own Understanding

Leaning on your own understanding is like leaning on a fragile walking stick. It will help you make many journeys, but when it finally snaps under the weight of your life, it won't just hurt your hand—you will fall over and destroy yourself.

We lean heavily on our past experiences to keep us safe. Years ago, I had a timeline for my life. I moved my family to Long Island to serve under another church, and the entire situation imploded. We were so deeply wounded that my wife, Julie, let out a spoken word curse: "I will never do ministry on Long Island again."

Her natural understanding told her that Long Island equaled pain. But God's ways are higher. When it came time to plant V1 Church, the grace was unequivocally on Long Island. We had to submit. Julie had to submit. It cost us our pride, but today, V1 Church is standing in a former soccer field on Long Island, filled with tongue-talking, devil-stomping believers seeing life break forth from what used to be a tomb!

God wants to do a new thing in an old place, but you have to stop leaning on your past.

God will allow you to get into situations that completely defy your understanding because it is the shortest route to the destiny He promised you. As Pastor Mike Signorelli says, "In the spirit, you do not increase in discernment as you increase in knowledge. In the spirit, you increase in discernment as you increase in obedience."

Deliverance is for the Desperate

Look at Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5. He was a highly successful, respected military commander. But he had a hidden problem: leprosy. Leprosy is progressive, just like double-mindedness, worry, and anxiety. You think you're only going in the wrong direction a little bit, but the disease grows.

Naaman went to the prophet Elisha for healing, but Elisha didn't even come outside. He sent a servant who told Naaman to dip himself in the muddy Jordan River seven times. Naaman's pride flared up. He was offended. He wanted to speak to the head prophet, not a campus pastor! He didn't want the muddy Jordan; he wanted the expert method.

But deliverance is for the desperate. Some of you have tried everything else. You went to a Taylor Swift concert and lifted your hands, but it left you in a worse condition. You went to a Jets game and raised your hands, but your football team couldn't save you.

You must stop inspecting the will of God and simply surrender to it.

You need to go down into the water seven times. There are seven layers of pride that need to come off your life. If your depression is still wrecking your mind, pray again. If your marriage hasn’t been made whole, pray again. Keep going back into that water.

The Holy Spirit Will Stop You, But He Won't Start You

Finally, look at the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 16. Paul was on a mission to take the gospel to a specific region, but the text says the Holy Spirit stopped him twice. The Spirit of Jesus forbid them from speaking the word in Asia.

Here is a massive secret to walking in God's will: The Holy Spirit will stop you, but He will not start you.

God gave you a will. When a toddler learns to walk, you don't tell them to stop walking. You let them move, but when they reach for a knife on the kitchen counter, you shout, "No!" You tell them what not to go after. That "no" is for their protection. Eventually, when they mature, they don't just get to touch the stove; they get to cook the whole family dinner. A "no" from God is often just a "not yet" waiting on your maturity.

It is time to get up off the couch. Stop waiting for a magical sign or a feather to fall from the sky. Put your full weight on your Savior. Become single-minded. I challenge you right now: lift your hands, surrender your control, and let God take you hostage.

If this resonated, watch the full series at https://youtu.be/86Dsl_k9n1k

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