Trust Your Sixth Sense

I’ve heard several self-defense experts through the years suggest that people trust their “sixth sense.” If a situation doesn’t feel right, even if you can’t put your finger on the reason why, it is often best just to remove yourself from the situation.

Explanations for this “sixth sense” run the gamut, but the most compelling argument I’ve heard is that a supposed “sixth sense” is just a feeling we get when a situation doesn’t match our pre-conceived notions. We may not consciously or immediately recognize why something doesn’t feel right, but something in our subconscious mind picks up a smell that is out of place or an item in a room that just doesn’t belong. In other words, we don’t have a “sixth sense,” but over time we get used to what is normal and our brain alerts us when something is different.

Spiritually, we should trust our sixth sense as well. I believe that the development of a spiritual “sixth sense” should be one of our goals as we mature in Christ.

Tim Challies writes that discernment is the “skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error.” But, that process of discernment doesn’t have to always begin with a carefully thought out plan.

Instead, as we grow in Christ through regular worship, the preaching of God’s word, reading God’s word, prayer, and other forms of discipleship and spiritual discipline, discernment becomes natural.

Romans 12:2 urges us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

As God’s word takes root in our hearts, our passions begin to change. We begin to define normal, not as the world defines normal, but as God defines normal. The more time we spend in God’s word, the more normal it looks and the more out of place our world looks.

With a renewed mind, we can hope to develop a spiritual “sixth sense” that alerts us when something doesn’t feel right. Now, this feeling is not the Word of God and it isn’t infallible. There are times when something doesn’t feel right because I ate too many tacos.

But, when we have immersed ourselves in God’s word and developed this skill of discernment, it becomes the initial warning that should drive us to God’s word.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about an opportunity he has been offered. As we discussed it he said, “I can’t put my finger on it, but something just doesn’t feel right.” He did not say that because he has a bad feeling that it is wrong or sinful. He did not say that because he has a bad feeling, he wouldn’t pursue the opportunity. Instead, his feeling is a prompt for him to pray fervently and to search the scriptures for guidance.

Trust your spiritual “sixth sense.” Do not trust it to be an infallible guide, but if something doesn’t feel right spiritually, press pause. Take time to pray about it, seek God’s word on the issue, and to turn to God’s people for insight and direction. Sometimes your feelings will be wrong, but the more you immerse yourself in God’s word, the more you will see the things that are opposed to God’s word as abnormal and disconcerting.

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