Life today seems to be all about the "experience." From entertainment to shopping to museums and even church, Americans have become feeling-driven consumers. We always seem to be looking for the next buzz.
For experience-minded people, the lighting and decor makes the moment. Feelings dictate perceived reality. This way of looking at life has spilled over even into Christian churches. Many people think, 'If we don't feel God, then He' not there.' Many Christians, especially charismatics or Pentecostals, seem to run around looking for signature spiritual experiences or the next "Jesus" high. They want to feel God as if it is a sign of spiritual growth.
I believe that the focus on experience instead of truth and God's glory is a subtle yet significant lie spread by Satan. He knows that if our Christianity is based on the physical experience and how it makes us feel, then our "faith" is no faith at all. Jesus has become nothing more than a mood. And the Holy Spirit has been reduced to a spiritual junky who passes out free samples every once and a while.
This is not to say that supernatural moves of God or experiences where you somehow feel God moving in your life are bad things. We should believe for God to do immeasurably more than we can think or imagine. God desires to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. But we should never seek a feeling or experience over God Himself. This is selfishness and idolatry. No, we must let truth determine our reality - never our feelings.
At the same time, we cannot deny that we have feelings or change them. Our feelings are what they are. Only God can change them. But we can decide not to act upon them or let them sway us from what we know to be true. We can determine to yield our minds and hearts over to God and let the Holy Spirit change how we feel about something. We can decide to act in faith and let the "proper" feelings follow instead of waiting for us to feel something so that we can then do the right thing.
Experience-focused Christianity is basically about our desires not God. I continue to confront this more and more as I talk with young people who are so use to judging everything based on sensory stimulation and emotional response. We must get to a point where we encounter God and worship Him for who He is not how we feel.
Which comes first faith or experiencing God?
