In the free portion of this post, we explored the concept of the Nabi—the “bubbling up” of the Holy Spirit within the human psyche. But how do we live with that fire? For you, my Inner Room subscribers, I want to pull back the curtain on the mechanics of discernment.
How do we tell the difference between a holy “bubbling up” and the mere steam of our own egos?
The Personal Behind-the-Scenes
When I was 19 and that phrase—“There has to be more than this to Christianity”—erupted from my heart, I was terrified. My ego immediately tried to shut it down. I felt like a “bad Christian” for being dissatisfied. In Jungian terms, my persona (the “good missionary girl”) was being threatened by my shadow (the hungry, thirsty parts that wanted more of God that I hadn’t acknowledged).
Remember: In Hebrew, the word for prophet is nabi, which means “to bubble up.” Prophets like Jeremiah weren’t calm scholars; they were gripped by a fire they couldn’t hold in: “His word is in my heart like a fire... I am weary of holding it in” (Jeremiah 20:9). That is the psyche on fire with the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The first step in my discernment was a simple, gut-level realization: I couldn’t stop the bubble. When the Holy Spirit speaks…
