Discerning spiritual discernment vs mood swings

Throughout my life, I’ve often heard the phrases “you’re being too sensitive”, “stop being so moody”, “you’re reading too much into things”, and more. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t change this about myself. I was and still am a “moody” person. One minute I can be on top of the world and the next I can come crashing into a whirlwind of emotional turbulence.

For many years, I accepted the label of being “moody”. I could walk into a shop and become agitated, creeped out, or peaceful. For reasons I couldn’t explain, I would keep a lot of people at arm’s length because something about them didn’t seem right.

As you can imagine this has lead to a more solitary life and not a lot of people really understand. Can you relate?

Here’s the thing: I’m not moody. I operate quite highly and well in the gift of discerning of spirits. Which makes perfect sense when you add in intercession, prophetic, and pastoral ministry.

How did I know I wasn’t moody but discerning?

Five years ago, God started to train me more in the gift of discernment. He placed me in a church that operates quite highly in this gift and started to send resources to assist me in this training.

I got many opportunities to minister to people for inner healing at my church (I was part of the team) and my role as intercessor was to discern and pray.

4 Tips to use to tell if you are being moody or discerning:

This is what I learned:

#1 Look at what is currently happening around you?

What events are happening in your life?

My family and I were in the process of immigrating to the UK. We started to feel those daunted and excited feelings. Also, selling our household items brought many people we don’t know into our lives with their own weird vibes.

Immigrating means stress, stepping out of comfort zones, trepidation and fear, and even worry. At the same time, we saw it as an opportunity to step out in faith and trust God. Still, these are clues.

What about your surroundings?

Around this time, I went to a mall twenty minutes from where we lived in South Africa. In this particular suburb, a lot of construction and roadworks were taking place causing a lot of sand and dust. Fast forward a few days and I went to one of the biggest business hubs in our city (Johannesburg) which was also under huge construction. (more dirt and dust and chaos).

Generally, construction makes me feel edgy and disjointed. I struggle with dirt, mess, and chaos. So this is another clue.

How are your relationships?

Overall, my family and marriage were doing well. So I could immediately tell that my moodiness was not linked to my relationships because they’re good.

What is happening in your country or neighborhood?

Think about Irma which happened in 2017! Aagain, chaos, destruction, fear, worry, panic, mess, Can you see the pattern building?

What about the politics of your country?

Almost everywhere I look, the world is in political turmoil. This turmoil again indicates chaos, fear, worry, discomfort, insecurity, etc.

What happens around you are clues to what you are discerning.

#2 Give what you are feeling a name

It’s important to name your feelings. When you name them, you can work with them. Immigrating brought me a myriad of feelings including anxiety, spiraling out of control (so I’m getting frazzled because I need security), insecurity, overwhelm, trepidation, fear, and worry.

Yes, my stressor of immigration was causing this but these feelings (moods) were greater than my little world but an atmosphere of the areas around me and the global atmosphere. Discernment, says I. ha ha ha

#3 Do a body check

ha ha ha ha it’s not as weird as it sounds….maybe it is…I’ll let you decide.

A body check is really this: Be aware of your body, your emotions, and your spirit. When those moods or feelings come in where are they in relation to your body? Are they around you like rain or Star Wars jets shooting lasers at you? Do those feelings seem to be inside you like nanobots?

If it feels like it’s inside your body, then it’s most likely an issue that you need to take before the Lord and find a trusted confidant to help you work through it.

If these feelings are more external and around your body, it is not your issues per se. You are really discerning the world around you.

#4 Ask someone you trust

If none of the above work for you, find someone you trust who operates well in the gift of discerning of spirits and ask them their perspective.

This could be as simple as “Hey, what are you picking up on lately?” or “I’m really struggling with____________ are you experiencing the same struggle?”

If you’re being moody other people aren’t going to have those same feelings and emotions to the same extent you are. It will be isolated to you. However, if other people you trust are struggling with similar emotions, you’re discerning the spiritual atmosphere.

Check out the below videos for more information on spiritual atmospheres and sensitive people.

and a personal favorite: Shifting Atmospheres by Dawna de Silva

(Disclaimer: this is an affiliate link: If you liked Dawna’s teaching you can buy her book Shifting Atmospheres here.)

(You can read my post on shifting the atmosphere in your home here)

Let me tie this all into my week. My emotional turmoil is related to personal factors and I’m discerning the world around me. Both of them are opportunities to go before the Lord for help, guidance, insight, and his perspective. From there, you and I can begin to pray and walk out victorious.

Now it’s your turn. Hit the reply button to let me know how you enjoyed this post and what you’re struggling with.