How do you experience God?
Question: When people ask Jesus Christ to come into their hearts, how come they don’t experience God’s immediate divine intervention? I asked Jesus to come into my heart, but I didn’t experience God. How can I kinow for sure that God has not forgotten me? I know that the vehicle for salvation is God’s grace and not works, but why do preachers use scare tactics from their pulpits? All they do is make people afraid of God and cringe in fear. That is not healthy theology.
Answer: When you asked Jesus Christ into your heart, you did experience God’s immediate divine intervention! When God came into your life in the person of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, you were instantly transformed into a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). You passed from eternal death (Romans 6:23) to eternal life (john 3:16). In a verse, here is your divine intervention:
In a nutshell, Jesus “intervened” for you. He took on Himself the punishment you (and everyone else) deserved. That is the “fact” of your salvation. Now, you are asking about the “experience” of your salvation. Why don’t you “feel” saved? Remember that feelings come and go. You aren’t always going to “feel” married to your spouse (if you are indeed married), but the fact is that you are married.
The same goes for your faith. As much as it seems like your faith is based on feelings, it is based on the truth that God so loved you (John 3:16), and the fact that Christ saved you (Romans 5:6-9), and the promise that the Holy Spirit has secured you (Ephesians 1:13-14). One thing that might help you in this is making it a goal to learn more and more about God in all three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here is what Paul wrote to the Colossian church:
We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants you to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better (Colossians 1:9-10).
Don’t expect others to give you the feelings you want. Take charge of your Christian life and live to please God. The Holy Spirit will give you all the feelings you need. As for preachers who make people afraid of God, you’re right, that probably isn’t healthy theology. When the Bible talks about “fearing God,” it doesn’t mean we are to be afraid of Him. As our friend Chuck Swindoll once said, to fear God means to take Him seriously and do what He says. Honestly, the problem with most people isn’t that they are afraid of God. The problem is that they don’t take Him seriously.
