The Good News is, You Can’t

 Categories : A Culture of Listening Listening to God

 

Once we agree that God exists and wants to communicate with us, there’s one universal question:  How can I know that I’m hearing correctly? Rather than give you a false sense of security, I’m going to share the most hopeful insight I’ve heard in several months.  You can’t.

Don’t get me wrong.  There are ways to sharpen your discernment, and we’ll talk about those.  Cultivating discernment is crucial.  But every human is vulnerable to confusion or deception to some extent.  Even our empirical knowledge gets revised when we realize that the “facts” weren’t as factual as we thought.   In reality,  we’re most vulnerable to deception when we think we can prove anything with certainty.

The truth is, you can’t really know that you’re hearing correctly, but we can.  A friend pointed out recently that, although each of us can comprehend only part of the picture, together we have the mind of Christ.  Instantly I knew this was a missing piece for so many who struggle with discernment.

mindofChrist2We tend to fixate on being correct.  God is more interested in us connecting with him and each other.  He didn’t give us as  individuals the capacity to fully grasp anything.  Instead he entrusts the mind of Christ to us collectively.  This interdependence protects us from each other and from ourselves.  It protects us in our areas of greatest strength and greatest weakness.  He created us to need each other, and that is really. good. news.

If you cultivate a lifestyle of listening to God, and listening to the people he’s put in your life, you will sometimes make mistakes.  But not listening doesn’t protect you from mistakes, it leaves you even more vulnerable.  There’s hope in knowing that I’m connected to other people who help me discern.

This isn’t all that spiritual.  For example, let’s say I’m condemning myself over something trivial.  Often I don’t even have to admit it to discern that it’s false.  Just the idea of saying it out loud is enough.  Just imagining how a loved one would respond helps me recognize the truth about myself.  You’ve probably done this type of reality check without thinking of it as discernment.   The point is, it’s only possible because of the relationship you already have.  Apart from relationship, we would be prisoners of our own thoughts.

Being connected isn’t a substitute for discernment.  It’s no excuse for not developing your own listening relationship with God.  But my (limited) revelation isn’t just mine.  It’s given to me (in part) to deepen your experience of the mind of Christ.  We have the mind of Christ.  It’s humbling, energizing, and honestly… terrifying.  In the best possible way.Now it’s your turn: How can you enlist other members of the body in your process of discernment? 

How can you deepen our understanding of the mind of Christ?



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  • Stephanie Jans

    Nice to be back Hannah… 7 months later. :-)

  • http://www.dreamswithwings.weebly.com Stephanie

    We tend to fixate on being correct. God is more interested in us connecting with him and each other. He didn’t give us as individuals the capacity to fully grasp anything. Instead he entrusts the mind of Christ to us collectively. This interdependence protects us from each other and from ourselves. It protects us in our areas of greatest strength and greatest weakness. He created us to need each other, and that is really. good. news.

    THIS my friend is a most comforting thought. KNOWING we are not left to ourselves to FIGURE IT ALL OUT lifts a HUGE burden. In my independence and what some may think is stubbornness (I see as determination) I so easily FORGET.. I CAN”T… This feels to me like God is saying…. “It’s o.k…. I know you can’t do it anymore… I know it’s too hard. I know the road is long… SO HERE… I give you my BODY my BELOVED. to co-partner with in learning a NEW language. It’s NOT entirely new this “hearing God” stuff. But it seems the framework or methods are NEW. I already journal but it is SO COMFORTING to me to know I am NOT alone. I will be MINDFUL of this today Hannah and the rest of you!!!! Love you and am filled with HOPE …. :-) Sending you a Holy Kiss and Shalom Peace!! :-)

    • mlekallio

      Stephanie, may the hope and peace you feel today sustain you always.

  • Rosten

    “We tend to fixate on being correct. God is more interested in us connecting with him and each other. He didn’t give us as individuals the capacity to fully grasp anything. Instead he entrusts the mind of Christ to us collectively. This interdependence protects us from each other and from ourselves. It protects us in our areas of greatest strength and greatest weakness. He created us to need each other, and that is really. good. news.”

    That sounds an awful lot like church…nope, this has to be heresy.

    • mlekallio

      Rosten, It’s probably some of each! The dictionary definition of heresy is “belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine”, and you’ll definitely find some of that here. But hopefully it’s more church (in the truest sense of the word) than heresy.

  • http://leanne-richwill.com Leanne Richards-Williams

    How can you enlist other members of the body in your process of discernment? – Share what I am learning, but honestly I am scared of….!

    How can you deepen our understanding of the mind of Christ? – By listening more to each other and sharing our testimonies/stories. In that way God will use each of us to answer deep questions that we have.

    • mlekallio

      Leanne, I totally agree about sharing testimonies and stories! The bible says it’s one of the main ways that we will overcome.

  • http://leanne-richwill.com Leanne Richards-Williams

    Thank you Hannah! This morning, while washing up the dishes (a therapeutic activity for me), I was reflecting on my devotional time and the material I read and I said deep down in my heart -more like talking to God: “Is it possible that I am deceive in thinking that God has been calling me to make radical changes in the way I live or and serve him. What you are calling me to do is not what my elders or church teaches or put any effort into. And they stand as truth bearers. Could I be wrong?”

    It is only God could provide the answer through your blog post today. And it also reaffirms your point: We have the mind of Christ. Collectively, the will of God is revealed.

    I could say more. But I am extremely happy for this revelation!

    God’s richest blessings to you Hannah (and family)!

    PS: God has blessed me with a work at home job after being jobless for a year and a half with mounting bills! But the truest blessing is seeing other mother becoming inspired about working from home since it is hardly heard of as a legitimate and substantial mode of employment. This has been the fruit of many prayers, hard work and persistence about doing something I’ve never done before. (I guess this is a lesson to apply to today’s post also)

    • mlekallio

      Leanne, You raised a very important point. While it’s true that collectively, we have the mind of Christ, that doesn’t mean we can always be in agreement with other believers when we follow God. Even Jesus was sometimes in conflict with religious leaders of his day because he obeyed his father. My prayer for you is that God will send more people into your life who share your passion and vision while sharpening and challenging you.
      PS. We’re praising God with you about your job!