In the course of my life so far, I have had two significant encounters that have shaped me and moved me in new directions. They were supernatural in nature and I cannot completely explain them. At best I can just tell the stories of these encounters and hope that somebody can make sense of them.
My first encounter happened when I was in middle school. My parents had taken me to a retreat where all the age groups were split up and separated. As a teenager new to the scene of other teenagers, I was rather awkward and unable to cope with the social norms (I still am as an adult, so I don’t think that was hormones). So I’m with a bunch of other teenagers I don’t know and who are mostly older than me and you can imagine that I’m just a little shy. Fortunately, the coordinators there were good at making sure we were all busy and in groups, so that worked well.
In the evening of that Saturday, we were all in a church sanctuary, just the teens and adult youth volunteers. We were singing praises and praying when all of sudden something came upon us all. It wasn’t tongues of fire (fortunately), but it was something both mysterious and powerful. It didn’t hit all of us at once. It started with a girl crying, becoming so overwhelmed with sadness that she fled the sanctuary. A man nearby started laughing hysterically. He couldn’t stop.
I grew up in the church. I knew about Jesus. I knew about God. Everything had been explained to me in clear detail. But this encounter was the first time I met the Holy Spirit. For some unknown reason, He descended upon us all that day and moved us all. That night, knowing now that there was a reality to what I believed in, having seen and felt His presence, I gave my heart to Jesus.
My second encounter was very different and probably even more miraculous. This time I was a prideful Christian boy in college. I had yet to fully mature in faith, even though I have traveled, at God’s behest, to Africa on mission work. I came back thinking that people should honor me. I didn’t have those exact thoughts, but my attitude was essentially that. When people didn’t, as well they shouldn’t have, my heart became a breeding ground for resentment and hatred. Needless to say, my spiritual life was a complete mess.
And I knew it.
So one night, while my roommate was away, I cried out to God and asked him to take it all away from me. He answered later that night.
I work up late at night. My joints were aching. My lips were dry. And something like air came out of my mouth. But it wasn’t from my lungs or stomach. It was something entirely different.
The spirit of hate left me. I thanked God for what He had done from my bed.
The Holy Spirit is not a force to be controlled. He has a mind and a will of His own. I can no more summon Him than I can summon a hoard of snakes (although by the Spirit I could probably do that). In any case, these are the most significant encounters I’ve had with the Holy Spirit. I’m sure any non-Christian could provide some explanation for this, but I know what it was.
I pray that those won’t be the last.