I’ve been in conversations where someone was quick to label a struggle as spiritual before really understanding what was happening. I’ve also seen the opposite — people dismissing the spiritual side of something because there seemed to be a physical, emotional, or psychological explanation.
I’ve learned that discernment often requires slowing down long enough to ask clarifying questions: Is there a family pattern? Unresolved grief, trauma, or loss? Has the struggle continued despite intentional efforts to address it?
These questions don’t necessarily reveal the cause, but they can keep us from reducing complicated struggles to simple explanations. Sometimes healing involves prayer. Other times, counseling, medical care, changed habits, grieving what happened, or taking responsibility for our choices. Often, it’s a combination.
Discernment isn’t about finding the quickest explanation or easiest solution. It’s about considering the whole person while inviting the Holy Spirit to reveal what needs attention.
So here is a question I have to ask myself when facing someone in the middle of their struggle (including my own): Am I genuinely seeking understanding, or am I settling for an explanation that feels comfortable?
With hope,
Nathan
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