David Diga Hernandez - How to Discern Between Your Thoughts and God's Voice

I can’t tell you how many times I asked, «Is this the Holy Spirit, or is this just me?» That’s a difficult thing to discern. You know what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12: «For the word of God is alive and powerful; it is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword.» Watch this now: cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow, it exposes our innermost thoughts and intents. So how can you tell between your emotions, which are of the soul, your mind, which is also soul, your intellect, which is soul, your preferences, which are of the soul? How can you tell between the soul and the spirit? Well, the word tells us. The scripture says that the word divides clearly between soul and spirit. But you know, there was a season in my life when everything I did was out of legalism. It got so bad that I would open my closet and go to pick a shirt; just for a split second, I would wonder, «Maybe I should wear that one,» and I would stand there, filled with guilt, frustration, and torment, saying, «Holy Spirit, I don’t want to miss you! I don’t want to miss you! I don’t want to miss you!» I would be with my friends and feel that I needed to go read my Bible right now; I had to go read my Bible right now. I couldn’t be sitting here with people; even in church, I couldn’t, I couldn’t be sitting here listening to a man of God preach. A powerful man of God told me that the Holy Spirit will not interrupt Himself, but I would go and I’d have to read, and then I wouldn’t feel free from that guilt until I read at least 40 chapters because, oh, I’m walking in the Spirit. No, I wasn’t. Religion can become tormenting; it becomes affliction, really. It becomes a bondage in your life, constantly second-guessing every little move you make.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit can work through these minor issues that we might think we have. So, I used to torment myself thinking I was hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit when I wasn’t. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat across from men and women of God who felt God was calling them to do something, only later to find out He was not, or people who get a different calling from God every other week. This week, God called me to be an evangelist; the next week, I’m going to do food distribution; the next week, I’m going to start an orphanage; and the next week, now I’m a prophet. God does not change His mind so easily. God is not in heaven saying, «Okay, this week you’re an evangelist; next week you’re a prophet. We’ll see about the worship team.» But people become tormented by these things, restless even. You know why you’re restless? You know why you’re tormented? Because you’re relying on your ability to hear the Holy Spirit rather than the Holy Spirit’s ability to speak to you. You’re trying to do it in your own strength, and it’s religion.

So understanding how the Holy Spirit speaks is the crucial key to true discernment. Otherwise, you’re going to go with what you want, with your preferences, with what you’ve always been taught, and you’re going to say that’s the leading of the Holy Spirit. Then, you’re going to double down on that, and you’ll be stuck in the bondage of deception. It’s easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they’ve been fooled. So how does the Holy Spirit speak? Number one is the word. Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 16-17 states, «All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.» So it guides us in the way and also tells us what is not the way. That’s twofold. You want a word from God? Open your Bible. You want sharper discernment? Open your Bible. You want to experience the glory? Open your Bible. The word is the key. If you’re serious about hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, you’ll be serious about reading the Bible.

Now, the Bible, the word, is the most clear way the Holy Spirit will speak. It is the more sure word of prophecy. The word of God is the most accurate, most reliable way to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. You start there. The problem is that people want to start with other things. They want to hear God through dreams before they hear Him in the word. They want to hear God through prophecy before they hear Him in the word. They want to hear God whisper to their heart before they hear Him in the word. The problem is if you start with your heart, you will be in error. That’s why you have to start with the word. You begin in the word; that is the primary way the Holy Spirit speaks. The second way the Holy Spirit speaks is through wisdom—this inner guiding, this inner pull that comes. The word strengthens you in wisdom, and wisdom helps you navigate the day-to-day operations of your life, in your marriage, with your children, on the job, in your business, in your school. If you lack the word, you will lack wisdom. If your life is rooted in the word, wisdom will follow. I don’t wake up every morning and have the Holy Spirit speak specifically about everything I’m going to do.