The Need for Supernatural Experiences

Hungry or Just Greedy?

     Often I find myself longing to experience God in a new way.  I've always been an imaginative person, wishing for more to happen than just the mundane : wake up, eat, go to school or work, come home,  eat , go to bed.  Through being a Christian I've learned there is much more to life than just what I can see. There is an entire spiritual realm waiting to be explored. I crave spiritual adventure and ever since my first taste of it,  I've been ravenous for more. On the day I surrendered my life to Jesus, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit via a heavy weight that pinned me down to my bed.  I then heard the voice of God for the first time, speak "You are dearly loved my child, dearly loved".  After that I daily heard his voice, felt his presence. I experienced the supernatural realm in  a way I never had before.  After such a heritage, how could I  ever settle for any activity devoid of God's power?   However,  I quickly learned it was not everyday I experienced something fresh and exciting. With time even my new supernatural experiences became routine. I learned  I could not ever be complacent. Even with spiritual matters I had to continuously seek MORE. I've had mixed feelings about seeking "more" though. I'd heard many Christians warn not to seek the "gifts" but the giver.  Of course, there is always the danger of idolizing supernatural experiences, of putting such  experiences ahead of God.  At times I seemed to have fallen in to that trap. I yearned for new experiences or for God to show me great and hidden things I did not know,  but did that make me an idolater,  a chaser of experiences rather than God? After three years of pondering this I believe I finally have the answer.  It is not wrong to strongly desire spiritual experiences or any kind of gift. The sin lies in wanting the gift MORE than God. Our desire for spiritual experiences can be strong but our desire for God must be stronger. So how do you know if you are desiring gifts more than the giver?  An easy way is to ask God to show you and then examine yourself. As the last two verses of Psalm 139 express,

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (ESV)

Would you still love God, even if you never had another supernatural experience? Could you wait infinitely for him to bless you and at the same time bless him infinitely? If you experienced nothing but suffering could you still be thankful to him? If you can say yes to all of these, then you know your heart is right and can pursue supernatural experiences with a good conscious. If you find yourself saying no to any of these (which I have) repent and ask God to help you stay focused on him. Then, continue to patiently ask him for the desire of your heart because he doesn't want you to completely stop seeking. He delights in giving good gifts and actually wants us to hunger for his gifts so that he can fill us. We have not simply because we ask not, or ask with the impure hearts. But "Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door will be opened to you. " (Luke 11:9-10 NIV) Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. If what you ask for is according to his will, you will be sure to get it. 

(1 John 5:14, NIV)

Now Show me your Glory

Perhaps the biggest justification  for seeking spiritual experiences comes from the book of Exodus.  One day God highlighted this story to me. In Exodus 33 Moses says to God "Now show me your glory".  I've always wondered what that meant. On one hand it seems he's asking God to show him something "amazing". When I think of glory, I think of something astounding or mind-blowing. However in Hebrew the word for glory used is  "kabod" and it means "weight"[1] . It signifies the inherent , intrinsic worth of something. God's glory is so tremendous that at one point his priests could not stand to minister under it (1 Kings 8:11). Moses had seen much of God's miraculous power, especially his parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14) yet he asks God to show him his glory. Interestingly God responds to Moses' request to see his glory by proclaiming his attributes to him.

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live. Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”.......And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”( Ex. 33:19-23,  34:5-7 , NIV)

 God shows Moses his glory by proclaiming his goodness and righteousness to him. Its as if God said " When you ask  to see my glory you are really asking to see my face: you are asking me to show you who I am."  Notice before God could reveal himself to Moses he had to  "hide him" in the cleft of the rocks, in what is also known as " a secret place". I believe this place of intimacy in the cleft of the rock points to the protection from God's wrath that we find in Christ; as Christians we are hidden in Christ in God (Colossians 3:4, NIV) Moses could not see God’s face, which was the ultimate sources of his glory,  because under the old covenant he was not fully righteous before God. God is so holy that he dwells in “unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16 NIV) and no one can see his face without being destroyed by his brilliant holiness. However in  Christ, the veil of separation between us and God is torn away and we receive Christ's righteousness. Therefore Christians can come boldly to God's throne of grace and see God’s face  (2 Corinthians  4:6).


  Often the reason I want to have these encounters is not so that I can feel good or experience something new but because I know that each encounter draws me closer to God. I learn something new about him with each revelation. I crave these experiences because I want to more deeply understand God and interact with him.   Below is an experience I had with God several months ago that allowed me to learn more about him: Starving for more of God, I had been debating whether or not to go on a missions trip with a well known revivalist. Ultimately I decided it was not the right time for me to go but I still in pangs to experience God more deeply.   I asked him , in Moses moment, to show me his glory even though I couldn't go on the trip.  Amazingly, he honored this request sooner than I expected. As I retired for the night, I felt the weight of his glory, more so than I'd ever felt. I was plastered onto my bed and even think I saw smoke or mist around me.  Then I heard his voice say  "I want you to know who I am". My eyes felt like they were burning out of my sockets and I was  afraid. He was so holy that it hurt, I felt like I was falling apart, like I was going to die. I was literally undone and it hit me that God is much bigger than I knew. I  learned afresh we probably don't experience even a 10th of what God is worth in our day to day life. He masks so much of his glory and  after experiencing a small taste of it, I'm certainly glad to be in Christ.  I experience God's presence deeply every day, but even what I experience is no where close to the level of himself he revealed to me that night. It was humbling to be reminded of his greatness, but in order to experience it I had to ask. At times it is hard for me to admit my hunger to know him and hard for me to have faith to expect more , but he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him(Hebrews 11:6 NIV) . I'd been asking God for such an experience  or 3 years, not very long in the grand scheme of things, but long for me. God has shown me that I , like Moses, can ask to see his glory and longing to see his glory is really longing to know more of him.


Wise Seekers 

 With supernatural experiences, we can see God's glory, his inherent worth.  We see from Scripture that is right and proper for us to ask for such experiences. God is Spirit and he desires worshippers who will worship him in spirit and in truth. As unbelievers we were unable to connect with God but now that we have believed, we have been seated in heavenly realms and now have access to the spiritual world (Ephesians 2:24-6, NIV).  With that being said, we must responsibly seek spiritual experiences.  Responsibly seeking means to test the spirits and see if what we have is from God  (1 John 4:1 NIV) Satan is a deceiver and a counterfeiter; he will disguise himself as "good" and try to give you false experiences in order to lead you away from God. It is also possible for your experiences to be a product of your own imagination. Therefore you need to properly discern the source of your encounters (  Is it from God, devil or self?).


 The Bible is the only infalliable resource you have and should be the measuring stick by which you judge your encounters. Your experience should not contradict what is in the Bible or go against the gospel. In the case that your experience is not  explicitly in the Bible, examine the fruit. Does the experience draw you closer to Jesus or match God character as revealed in the Bible? Supernatural experiences are often referred to as prophetic experiences because they are inspired by the spirit of prophecy, who is the Holy Spirit. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ. So if your experience is a testimony of Jesus Christ then it is likely from the spirit of prophecy, who is the Holy Spirit. If an experience exalts Jesus, supports the gospel and does not contradict key aspects of the faith (namely those revealed in Hebrews 6:1-2) then it is likely of God. You may also want to consult with other believers and weigh their counsel. However, keep in mind only you fully know what you have experienced. Listen to your own discernment in addition to that of others.  Some well meaning believers, who are suspicious of spiritual encounters (either because of pride or fear)  much like the Pharisees, will misjudge what is of God and could talk you out of an experience that is from him.  If possible, find someone who is mature in the faith like a pastor or older Christan with a great deal of experience in the supernatural. If you use all of these methods together instead of just one, your chances of successful discernment will  increase.  Even so, a certain level of faith is required in order to pursue supernatural experiences. Ultimately you must believe more in God's ability to keep you from deception than in satan's ability to deceive you. We must worship God in Spirit and in truth . Spiritual experiences happen through the Holy Spirit and they can look like many things, from visions, to dreams, to visits to heaven or visitations to your home from God and angels. You could even encounter God through the pages of the Bible. f you are in the word of God and you ask God for the Holy Spirit , you can have confidence God will not give you a stone or a snake. Believe that our good God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him  (Luke 11:13, NIV).


[1 ]http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3513.htm