The emotivist tendency of U.S. culture makes it easy for Christians to conflate discernment of spirits with discernment of God’s will, esp. if you are of a more charismatic persuasion, because you associate discernment of spirits with an emotional state. This is a misunderstanding, I think, of Ignatian principles, but that is for another post.
The discernment of God’s will is a broader consideration than the discernment of spirits (even in the authentic, Ignatian sense) and includes knowledge of God’s will in general, as well as discernment of His particular will for you. As Fr. Jules J. Toner, S.J. says, “such factors as the signs of the times, the lessons of our own and others’ past experience, and reasonable projection of future consequences from alternative good courses of actions, in order to judge which of those courses of action or options is likely to be ‘more conductive’ to the glory of God.” pp. 12-13.
The discernment of God’s will is a broader consideration than the discernment of spirits (even in the authentic, Ignatian sense) and includes knowledge of God’s will in general, as well as discernment of His particular will for you. As Fr. Jules J. Toner, S.J. says, “such factors as the signs of the times, the lessons of our own and others’ past experience, and reasonable projection of future consequences from alternative good courses of actions, in order to judge which of those courses of action or options is likely to be ‘more conductive’ to the glory of God.” pp. 12-13.
The will of God for us is expressed in Church teachings, the directives of legitimate authority, and the physical laws of nature and, more broadly, the Natural Law).
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