As a physical therapist, I have taken many courses in anatomy during my academic career and I can verify that nowhere will you find anything documented about your “knower.” However, I can tell you that your “knower” is a very real part of your body.
Your knower is located just above your navel. The function of your knower is to provide confirmation about decisions – big or small. Your knower is one of the places where the Holy Spirit speaks to you and gives you direction on where to go and what to do or say (or not say). When you experience the sense of peace that sits deep in your gut, that is when you know you have made the correct decision.
I have found that I have had to practice using my knower to make many small decisions to know what the feeling of peace feels like before I could find peace in making bigger decisions. It sounds silly, but even something as simple as going through a yellow light or not, choosing to go to work or go home a different way than I normally do or calling a friend who crosses my mind instead of allowing the thought to simply pass by are examples of those small decisions.
Once I became attuned to my knower, it helped to make bigger decisions; for example, who to date, when to marry, when to buy/sell a house, or which job to take. It also helps me make less tangible decisions, like when I need to change how I relate to my husband or my family and friends, when I need to extend forgiveness to someone (or myself!), or that I am in control of my emotions and I can choose how to respond instead of react (that is an ongoing, probably lifelong, lesson that I am still working to master).
Your knower is like any other part of your body – it requires exercise to maintain a healthy level of fitness (it would be great if it showed up in an abdominal 6 pack!). Your knower can be very easy to disregard with thoughts like “is that really the Holy Spirit or is that just me?” or simply being too lazy to take the time and energy to pay attention to it. When I choose not to pay attention to it, I find that the quality of my decisions drops drastically and I have less confidence about my decisions.
The more I pay attention to my knower, the more I can trust that it will guide me in the right direction. One of the best ways to prime my knower to function at its best is prayer. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV). People talk about “praying through” a situation. I have learned over the years that there is no magic in “praying through” something; rather praying through is simply the willingness to admit to God that you need guidance and then waiting for His answer until that sense of peace comes. Sometimes that peace comes sooner than later. Other times you are certain that you know what you are supposed to do, and that action may on several levels look like it lines up with the Word of God, and yet you still feel uneasy. In those moments, I have found that it is best to be open to other possibilities, which frequently can be more difficult, less fun and/or more expensive (in regards to time, money or emotional energy). I may then find peace in a solution or direction that I would never have thought of at the beginning of the process, and even if that new solution or direction makes less (or no) logical sense, I “know in my knower” that that is the path to take (which may cause literal or figurative kicking and screaming on my part). And yet, I feel so drawn to that new solution that there then seems no other alternative.
When I choose to be obedient and walk out the path of peace as directed by my knower, I cannot recall a time that the end result has turned out badly. The more and more I submit to the process and my knower, the easier it has become to “trust my gut.” I still make the occasional bad decision, but that is usually if I have made a hasty decision or have ignored the warning signs.
On a side note, we went to dinner last night to celebrate the launch of a newly published book written by Walter Ashby, the father of one of my best friends from high school, who is still one of my dearest friends today. My friend, Dr. Beth Jones, authored the afterword. I had the honor of reading the manuscript prior to publication to offer my ideas and recommendations for possible edits before the book went to the final editor. I had JJ take my picture with Walt and Beth to hold myself accountable to my previous post about increasing the photo documentation of our life. (Last night was one of those times where my knower said “Don’t let the moment pass by.”). Here is our photo from last night and a link to their book. It is a powerful story of overcoming obstacles and misconceptions of being visually impaired in a sighted world.
CrossingOverJordan 