Day 12 – Interior Movement – An Advent Journey for the Discerning Heart – Discerning Hearts Podcasts
An Advent Journey for the Discerning Heart:
Prepare your heart for Christ through Scripture, the saints, and the gentle practice of daily listening.
Week Two: Following the Voice of Christ
DAY 12 – Interior Movement
“I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night also my heart instructs me.”
Psalm 16.7 RSV
Interior movement is the gentle way God guides the listening heart. It is subtle. It often arrives quietly, as a small prompting, a shift of desire, a deepening peace, a check within the conscience, or a quiet sense of direction. These movements are not dramatic. They work from the inside out. Christ leads the heart through grace that touches thoughts, affections, and choices.
Interior movements are part of how the Good Shepherd speaks. Instead of overwhelming the soul, He nudges it. Instead of forcing clarity, He invites attention. When the heart becomes aware of these movements, discernment becomes possible. We begin to notice which movements draw us closer to God and which movements pull us away.
Interior movement is not emotional fluctuation. It is the activity of grace within the soul. It is Christ shaping the desires, quieting unhelpful impulses, strengthening hope, deepening peace, stirring courage, or illuminating a small next step. The discerning heart learns to recognize these movements and follow them with trust.
Advent invites us to become sensitive to these interior movements so we may follow Christ with greater freedom.
Journey with the Saints –
St. Francis de Sales
“God’s inspirations prepare our hearts and make us want to receive His grace.”
St. Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Love of God, Book 2, chapter 12
Francis de Sales was a master of understanding the interior life. He teaches that God’s movements within the heart are gentle, attractive, and never violent. Grace draws the soul. It never pushes. God inspires first. Then the heart responds. This is how love works.
For Francis, interior movement begins with God’s initiative. The soul feels drawn toward a desire for prayer, a longing for patience, a renewed tenderness toward another person, or a quiet urge to trust God more deeply. These stirrings are not from the self. They are invitations from the Lord.
Francis also teaches that interior movements require a peaceful, receptive heart. If the soul is hurried, anxious, or overly focused on self, it can miss these gentle inspirations. But when the heart grows calm and attentive, it becomes more aware of how God is guiding from within.
He reminds us that interior movements are always rooted in love. God stirs the heart so we can draw closer to Him.
Reflection for the Listening Heart
Today invites you to notice what is happening inside. What desires are stirring. What feels drawn toward God. What feels pulled away. What interior movements seem to nudge you toward patience, gratitude, or prayer. What movements trouble your peace.
Interior movements are one of the primary ways Christ guides us. You do not need intense experiences. You simply need attentiveness. When you sense a quiet draw toward something good, pause long enough to ask, “Lord, is this from You.” When you sense an interior resistance or tightening, pause again and ask, “Lord, what are You showing me.”
Ask yourself: What movements within me today might be the gentle work of grace. How is Christ trying to guide me from the inside.
A Simple Practice for Today
At least once today, pause for thirty seconds and gently name the interior movements you feel. Say, “Lord, let me follow the movements that come
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