Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sensing Spiritual Moments

Sometimes we find ourselves in a moment where everything around us seems to shout the presence of God. They may come often for some, but as rare as a comet for others. I'm in one as I write this out in my back yard by the fire on perhaps the most beautiful evening of the year. The kids are in bed and I've dimmed my screen to avoid spoiling the starlit sky.

Sensing Spiritual Moments requires something intangible of us, and in my experience, they come when I least expect them. We cannot manufacture them and they cannot be scheduled in our planners--thought we can plan time to be alone in nature with His word, or in communion with close believing friends.

I was reminded by our missions trip teens on Sunday evening about a memory forged en route from New Mexico to New Jersey. We were returning from two weeks of ministry and travel and were experiencing the tension of events beyond our control. We became aggravated by our slow progress at rest stops compounded by vehicle trouble and allowed an open door for Satan to stir up strife. One of our students recognized the danger and soon Bible verses were beating back the darkness and we fought frustration with worship music.

I am certainly not known as a mystic, but I cannot explain to those who were not there how intense this season of praise became. The Spirit of God descended on that van like Sinai and we all spoke about it afterward. Perhaps you have experienced this too?

Sound theology reminds us that God is always with us. But, if we are honest, we spend the majority of our days thirsting for a sense of the divine that seems just out of reach. I think Paul knew what I mean when he wrote, "now we see in a mirror dimly." Our spiritual senses are not near what they ought to be, they are dull to the point of regularly missing our Father's omnipresence.

Is there anything we can do to cure this deficiency? I mostly encounter these "spiritual moments" when I sense that I have been a part of something that God is or has been doing. When we are battling darkness and cling to the Lord, or when he comes through for us in power, these are the times of spiritual exhilaration. For a biblical example, consider Miriam's dance and song after being delivered from Pharaoh's death chase in Exodus 15.

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