Kris Vallotton • Dec 03, 2017

How to Not Be Overcome by the Darkness You Discern

I’ve heard so many stories of people labeling cities as “dark” or focusing on the “bigger demons” they discern in those places. Of course there is darkness in the world, and thankfully God gave us this gift of discernment to know what’s happening in the spiritual realm around us. However, I also know that many people struggle with discerning darkness around them, and not being able to get out from under it. The gift of discernment is just that—a gift. It’s meant for discerning not only darkness, but also the giftings of those around us. But if discernment is a gift then why does it feel like a burden for so many?

BE AWARE OF THE SPIRITUAL

“Hold on, Kris!” you may be thinking. Some of you may have no idea what I’m talking about! Many say that ignorance is bliss, but God says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6). I am astonished by how many people (including Christians) are unaware that we do not inhabit, but we cohabit, this planet.

The apostle Paul began to unveil this mystery to us when he wrote, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware” (1 Corinthians 12:1). The word gifts here is not in the original Greek text. The verse actually should read, “Now concerning the spiritual, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.” Paul is using the gifts of the Spirit as an example of how the spirit realm functions. Although Christians typically acknowledge the unseen realm on some intellectual level, I don’t think they fully understand how the spirit world is having an effect on their daily lives.

Whether you’re a veteran discerner or this is brand new news to you, I want to encourage you with this thought: you were made to set the spiritual temperature in the room, not to be overcome by it. Let’s check out this week’s Monday Motivation video for more:

In a nutshell:

• Ask yourself: Am I a thermostat or a thermometer? A thermometer just sets to the temperature in the room. A thermostat dictates the temperature in the room.

• Jesus said if you’re lukewarm He’ll spit you out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16). Lukewarm is the temperature of the room.

• If you’re a thermometer, whatever the temperature of the room is, you adjust to it. You’re a chameleon Christian who doesn’t have a fire of your own, but you’re just the temperature of what everyone else is.

• However, if you’re a thermostat, when you walk in the room instead of recognizing how dark it is, you decide that you’ll determine the temperature and release heaven instead.

• When we were starting the school of ministry we would hear a similar story over and over. Sometimes our students would graduate from school on fire (I’m talking about the students who were doing so well in school) and two years down the line after leaving they’d be struggling again.

• The world has an ecosystem. Ephesians 2:2 says that unbelievers walk “…according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” It’s not just about free will, it’s about the spirit that’s working in them. This makes the battle spiritual.

• What I realized about our ministry school students who would struggle when they left us was that we were taking revivalists, boiling them like a pot of water, and sending them out into the world which was like a refrigerator.

• When you put a hot pot of water in a refrigerator, the pot won’t make the fridge cold, but rather the fridge makes the hot pot cold. This is because the fridge is plugged in, but the pot is not.

• However, if you take the boiling pot of water and put a burner under it, and you plug it in and then put it in the fridge, you now have  two ecosystems in conflict .

• If you reach over and unplug the refrigerator, then eventually it will become the temperature of the pot.

• What I’m getting at is that when our students left they didn’t stay connected to an ecosystem of fire. They needed to learn how to build their own fire, but also needed to learn to stay connected to us.

ACTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Today I want to encourage you to meditate on this verse and invite Holy Spirit to show you ways that you have conformed to the world. I know He will give you a truth to renew your mind with.

To go a step further, I encourage you to ask Him what it looks like for you to be a thermostat instead of a thermometer. The next time you discern something dark, remember that you have the power to shift the atmosphere and to reset the temperature. There is no formula for this, but rather the alignment with truth and the invitation to Holy Spirit to show you how to partner with Him.

Another thing I’d love to encourage you to do this week is to get connected with an ecosystem that brings you life, strength and encouragement! Don’t be a lone pot of boiling water hanging out in a cold refrigerator!

Do you have any testimonies of being a thermostat? Do you struggle with being a thermometer more times than you’d like? I’d love to hear about your process in the comments below!

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