supernatural

We shared today in our staff meeting about supernatural experiences with God that we’ve had in our lifetime.  One of our staff's teachers referenced a study a few Sundays back that found a high percentage of people have had supernatural encounters with God….but that the last place many of them said they’d share about that encounter was…..the Church!  People surveyed said that they would share their experience with their hairdresser before they’d tell someone at church!  Something is wrong with this picture if the followers of Jesus aren’t encouraging one another with experiences of the miraculous and mysterious power of God. 

I have many experiences with the presence of the living Christ in my life, but as we shared together, I recalled a time in my life when the Spirit of God moved in a most dramatic way.   It was March 2004, and  I had told a young Korean-American friend that  I would visit a Korean-American church in town with her.  I went into the service pretty closed off, not really interested in an afternoon of worship in another language, and somewhat ticked off at this friend for some of the choices she was making in her life.  We were standing singing “Fairest Lord Jesus” in Korean, and out of nowhere, the presence of God came into the room with such overwhelming power.  I remember starting to cry, and as we sat and began to listen to the minister, a young man from across the room, got up, walked around the sanctuary and sat by my side.  “I believe I’m supposed to interpret for you,” he said. 

Through the sermon, as my tears and goosebumps continued, this man…this conduit of God… leaned over and whispered 7 sentences to me.  I believe they were straight from God’s mouth for me.

1.       You must be silent to receive the blessings of God.

2.       You must open your hands to receive the blessings of God.

3.       You must be humble and childlike to receive the blessings of God.

4.       Being thankful helps us recognize our blessings.

5.       Be poor in spirit.

6.       Jesus lived a life of service and sacrifice; we must do the same in the Church.

7.       Jesus is the Good Shepherd. 

Who is this God that can show up so mightily in my life during a worship experience that wasn’t even in English?!  Whose power breaks through a closed mind and heart in the middle of an afternoon when I least expected Him?  This is our God.  Praise and glory and honor be to Him alone! 

How about you?  Any encounters with God you’d be willing to share?