Discerning the Lord's guidance
Danika Mitcham, Vice President of Supporter Operations for Compassion International, shares practical examples of keeping in step with the Spirit.
As believers, we are given the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all areas of life – including the decisions we make in the day-to-day. Ephesians 1:13 reminds us that, in Christ, we “were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Paul wrote in Galatians 5:25, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
At Compassion, one of our Core Values is Discernment, so that we can strive to make Spirit-led decisions as we pursue God’s will to accomplish our mission together. In our Leadership Expectations, leaders are expected to, “in alignment with Compassion’s vision, prayerfully discern the future God is calling your team to.” We can’t do that unless we are regularly seeking to hear from the Lord and adopting specific practices that help us do that in the workplace.
In my 18 years with Compassion, my favorite teaching moment was a talk on discernment from Jimmy Mellado, our President & CEO. Discernment requires being attuned to the voice of God, and it is important to our work that we take the time and make space to hear the voice of God, through his Holy Spirit, before we act.
One of the ways the my team and I were able to grow this past year was through the spiritual practice of an intentional discernment exercise called Attunement. Throughout the year, our team started each planning meeting with this exercise. This practice helped us to quiet the noise of the day and release hard situations we were dealing with to the Lord, so we could focus on where He was leading us. This has been an amazing experience to walk through in community as a team, and each of us has been impacted in different ways.
One of my team members, Sang Lee, noted, “The exercise helped me focus on God first with a prayer … and I think the Attunement exercise is going to help us slow down and put God at the center of every part of our decisions.” I have felt this same thing. During my daily work, I now think to myself, “I am not going to respond until I have a chance to walk through the discernment exercise.” It helps me pause and calm my mind before reacting. I am able to become aware of where I am, remove distractions and bring an open mind and heart to the Lord.
In this posture before the Lord, I have been able to deepen my listening. Not just ordinary listening, but listening for what is good and holy, what is broken, what is my contribution, and what is impacting others. This has resulted in a change in how I approach relationships. I engage in this exercise with God before approaching my neighbour. Even though some things I hear in this moment of quiet before the Lord are hard to hear, it ultimately is healthy and helps give me boldness to resolve unspoken conflict within relationships. It truly has been an amazing, empowering experience for me and my team, and it has increased our reliance on and connection to God in the day-to-day.
How can you intentionally bring discernment into everyday life? What practices do you currently have in place individually or on your team that lead to discernment and reflection before action?
We all have room for growth in seeking God’s will and aligning our response. There are resources available, like the Attunement exercise our team has implemented, to help foster this growth. May we all take steps together as a community to be intentional in discernment, so we can grow to be more in tune with the Spirit and ultimately more like Christ. And, as we live out a commitment to discernment, we can be even more effective in our calling to be a part of God’s Kingdom coming, His will being done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Author: Danika Mitcham, Vice President of Supporter Operations, U.S. for Compassion International