3 Easy Ways To Develop Discernment in a Noisy World With the Jesus Challenge
How often do you mindlessly scroll through Instagram, come across a beautifully edited reel of “powerful truth,” and think, “Wow, that is SO good. I needed to hear that!” 😍 The person in the reel sounds passionate, they’re well-respected, and your friend liked the post! It makes you feel really encouraged. You might even save it for a little spiritual pick-me-up later.
I get it! We live in an age of instant and constant spiritual content – YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, podcasts, audiobooks, movies – there’s no shortage of voices offering advice or a “word from the Lord.” 🗣️
Some of it is absolutely rooted in truth, but some of it is not…
Here’s the scary part: If you’re not careful, you’ll be led by what FEELS good rather than by the reality of truth. ⚠️
And I know that’s not what you want.
That’s why I created the virtual Jesus challenge! It’s a 40-day challenge to help you prioritize God’s Word over the many loud noises of your life and tune your heart to HIS voice. It aligns you with Truth so you can easily discern what is and – more importantly – is NOT from Him.
👉 The more you weave His Word into your daily life, the quicker you recognize when something doesn’t quite align with God’s truth. 👈
Why Does Discernment Matter?
Because our feelings are an unreliable barometer for truth. The Bible even warns us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Our hearts are good for many things – compassion, loving others, and sharing each other’s victories and burdens. But they are deceptive. Just because something stirs up your emotions or feels encouraging does NOT automatically mean it’s biblically sound.
🚨 Remember: someone’s charisma does not guarantee their credibility.
No matter their passion, following, fame, or persuasiveness, only ONE thing stands firm: God’s unchanging Word. ⚓
Isaiah 40:6-8 says, “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field… The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
If you want to be someone who lives by God’s enduring truth, you must be intentional about testing what you hear against what God’s already said. 📖
Please hear me: Discernment doesn’t mean you must be skeptical of everyone and assume every Christian speaker is out to twist the truth. Discernment means that you’re SO rooted in truth that when something even seems slightly off, you recognize it and check it against God’s Word.
And that kind of discernment doesn’t fall into your lap. It comes from spending consistent, intentional time with Jesus – listening, learning, and letting His Word shape your thoughts.
How Do I Grow In Discernment?
You might be thinking, “This all sounds great, but how am I supposed to know if something is biblical? I’m not a Bible scholar. I haven’t been to seminary. What if I get it wrong?!” 😣
I know, the thought of understanding all the countless nuances of Scripture feels overwhelming.
But the good news is that you don’t have to be a Bible scholar to have discernment! As a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit in you, who will nudge you when something doesn’t align with the truth. 👋 You just have to be willing to listen and dig in!
My goal with this blog is not to make you question everything you’ve ever learned about the Bible or to turn you into a skeptic who mistrusts every Christian speaker. Not at all! My hope is simply to help you be mindful of what you’re allowing to shape your understanding of God and His truth.
You don’t need to automatically discount everything you hear, but you do need to be willing to ask, “Does this actually align with Scripture?” 🤔 And if you’re not sure, seek help to find the answer.
So how do you do that practically? How do you stay grounded in truth when there are so many voices saying so many different things?
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Go Straight to the Source—Your Bible
The BEST, number one way to know if something lines up with truth is to open your Bible. If a speaker, Instagram post, or anything sounds a little off, don’t brush past it. Take a second and check – does this actually match up with Scripture?
God’s Word will never contradict itself. If one verse seems to say something different than what you’re hearing, that’s a clue to dig a little deeper.
How can we recognize what Scripture doesn’t say if we don't know what it does? 🤷 The more you read it, the more you’ll start catching things that don’t line up.
The Bereans in Acts 17:11 model this well– they didn’t just take Paul’s word for it, no matter how convincing it sounded. Instead, they searched the Scriptures and fact-checked him daily to make sure what they were hearing was actually true. 🔦
Now, I know the thought of “just read your Bible” feels overwhelming. It’s a MASSIVE book!
😵 Where do you start?
😵 How do you stay consistent?
That’s why the Jesus challenge is so helpful! Every day of the virtual Jesus challenge, you get a pre-assigned passage of Scripture to read. It’s simple, natural, and takes the pressure off. It breaks down the Word into bite-sized pieces, so instead of feeling stuck or overwhelmed, you actually enjoy it! 🤩
You don’t have to figure it all out at once. You just have to take a step. The Jesus challenge is a practical, simple way to start your journey to discerning God’s voice. 👣
2.) Seek Wise Counsel
You know that feeling when you’ve got something stuck in your teeth, and no one tells you? Then you get home, look in the mirror, and wonder how many people saw you walking around like that. Yikes. 🫣
Spiritually speaking, you need people in your life who don’t let you walk around with stuff in your teeth – like deception stuck in your heart. We all need wise counsel!
Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” We weren’t meant to figure everything out alone. God designed us for community! One of the biggest blessings of a Godly community is finding people who love you enough to keep you accountable to His Word. 🤝
If something you hear doesn’t sit right, don’t be afraid to ask a trusted friend, mentor, or pastor about it. Find someone whose walk with God you trust, and ask them, “Hey, I heard this the other day – what do you think? Does this line up with Scripture?”
When you sign up for the Jesus virtual challenge, you’re not doing it alone. You get access to a private Facebook group full of people walking through the same 40-day journey. It’s a space for encouragement, prayer, questions, and good old biblical iron sharpening iron.
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Ask your questions!
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Invite them to share what God’s teaching them.
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Let God speak to you through them.
The Jesus virtual challenge is the community of believers you’ve been longing for. People who pursue Jesus together, cheer each other on to the finish line, and make sure you stay focused on the truth of God’s Word. 🏃
Let’s not do this alone, ok? We need each other! There’s real, life-giving community waiting for you in the virtual Jesus challenge.
3.) Talk to Your Pastor
Maybe you’re new to the Christian faith and don’t know how to get started. Don’t stress - there’s someone who would love to help you dig into Scripture: your pastor.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for a pastor who genuinely cares about handling God’s Word rightly. He takes the time to walk me through passages I don’t understand and helps me wrestle with tough questions. He says my questions even hold HIM accountable to preach the Word accurately!
That kind of humility marks a good teacher, one who knows he also falls under the authority of Scripture and is accountable for his flock.
Any pastor, influencer, or teacher worth listening to will encourage you to test their teaching against God’s Word. They won’t get defensive when you ask questions or act like they’re the final authority. A wise teacher welcomes that because their goal isn’t to make you depend on them but to help you depend on God’s Word. 🤲
So, if you’re feeling stuck, reach out to your pastor.
Ask questions.
Have conversations.
And always, always go back to Scripture to make sure what you’re hearing is true.
Immerse Yourself In Truth With the Jesus Challenge
You know those moments when you walk into a room and completely forget why you’re there? Or put your glasses on your head and wander around for 15 minutes looking for them? 😒
Sadly, we do the same thing with Scripture. We hear the truth, nod along, and highlight it in our Bibles, but when life gets busy, it slips our minds.
👉 If we don’t daily find our minds with God’s Word, how can we expect to recognize when something is off?
The Jesus virtual challenge gives you a built-in rhythm of immersing yourself in God’s Word. As you consistently read Scripture, God’s voice will cut through the noise of your life and anchor your thoughts, decisions, and opinions to His truth.
You’ll feel more grounded, purposeful, and confident in your faith – because you’re training your heart and mind to recognize God’s voice above all the others.
⚠️ If truth isn’t planted firmly in your heart, you’ll sway in whatever direction feels and sounds good – even if it’s not biblical. And that’s an exhausting, unfulfilling, and scary way of life.
Discernment doesn’t fall into your lap. It’s built through consistency.
Your Next Step: Joining the Jesus Challenge
At the end of the day, my goal isn’t to make you walk around doubting everything you hear or becoming overly skeptical. It’s simply to remind you to be mindful of what’s shaping your understanding of God. 💭
He doesn’t expect you to have a theology degree or know Greek and Hebrew. He just wants you! He wants you to know Him, love Him, and follow Him with your body, mind, and soul.
While I don’t think any of us will fully “arrive” at being total Bible experts on this side of heaven, you can be equipped to do your best at discerning the truth. 📚
After all, as Evelyn Underhill so eloquently put it, “If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshipped.”
You don’t have to have all the answers. But you CAN be intentional about filling your mind with truth.
One simple way to do that today is to sign up for my next virtual Jesus challenge. It’s not overwhelming or complicated – it’s a clear, daily rhythm that helps you center your heart on God’s Word. You’ll not only gain consistency in Scripture, but clarity, discernment, and a powerful community that walks with you every step of the way and beyond. 🫂
If your heart’s longing for more confidence in your faith and more clarity in hearing God’s Voice – this is your next step. 👇