Most Christians know the exhilaration of leaving a worship service energized, euphoric, and on fire. Many people have had meaningful encounters with God that are still bearing fruit to this day.
It appears to me many people are hunting for experiences instead of seeking the God of the experience. Let me explain. Several years ago I attended a conference where Louie Giglio was preaching. God moved that night in a powerful fashion. On the drive home I contemplated how many more conferences I would have to attend before I could truly sell out. I had attendened many conferences and heard many preachers looking for whatever experience would help me turn the corner for good in my struggle against sin, desire to be faithful, and to be more anointed by God to preach, shepherd, nd write. I am still seeking all of that decades later. Instead of an experience what I needed then and need today is true encounters with God daily to shape me into the servant I need to be.
I walked out of that conference that night with my passion reignited, with my faith strengthened, and my resolve to serve God in my generation deeply entrenched. You know what happened. The emotionalism of that experience wore off in time. The feelings fled. The passion passed.
There are many experience junkies in the Christian ranks. They are always going from conference to conference, program to program, and church to church bustling about looking for the next spiritual high. They crave emotional experiences to keep them afloat spiritually.
How many of these same people spend equal time and effort in their private devotions of prayer and Bible meditation. I have walked with God long enough to know that I cannot be governed spiritually by my emotions. Neither can you. Nor can we judge the move of God in a worship service by how many people respond to the music or message emotionally.
We need churches filled with God seekers. Those who cannot be satisfied with the lesser blessings of emotionalism but want the true meat of encounters with God. We need people who are satisfied to linger long in secret place with the Father to learn from Him and to learn of Him. We need people who hunger and thirst for God more than they do an emotional experience.
Sure, meeting with God can produce emotions. I have wept my eyes out in altar calls. I have sung at the top of my lungs in moving worship services. I have prayed with passion in response to the move of God in my life. I can think of dozens and dozens of such encounters over the years.
The times that have come to mean the most to me over the years have nearly always come in my private times of seeking Him. I recall such a time in New Mexico. I recall another sitting at a picnic table on the shores of Lake Palestine. There have been others sitting in quiet corners of cafes. Some took place in a prayer cabin in deep east Texas and others walking dusty country roads. There have been too many encounters with God to cont in my living room or home office. The sweetness of each of those was meeting with God. He was and still is my ultimate pursuit not an experience.
How much are people missing out because they spend all their time and energy seeking an experience. Leadership in local churches are guilty of trying to manufacture such experiences through music, multimedia presentations, and messages. Few notice these can never substitute from a true encounter with our Creator. One true encounter with the living God is worth more than thousands of emotional experiences that will wear off in time.
Seeking God is a lifelong pursuit, the most glorious quest, and is not always done when surrounded by throngs of people. Truly seeking God and knowing Him require solitude and prayer. It requires the slow meditational reading of the scriptures. He longs to be found by the true seekers. He waits to be wanted. Let me ask again. Are you seeking God or an experience?
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