Kris Vallotton • Oct 01, 2021

Why Encountering God May Be Different Than You Expected

GOD ENCOUNTERS

Has your heart longed for an encounter; a moment where God walks on the scene and radically changes everything? We hear the terms “God encounters” or “encountering the Holy Spirit” often in our environment — they have been a part of the Bethel culture from the start. The word encounter has been a word used to try to explain the experience we have as believers when the Holy Spirit touches us and impacts our lives. But, I want to challenge you, have encounters become glorified moments and grand monuments in our lives? Have we limited encountering God to a physical manifestation and ignored the work He has done on the inside? 

The danger with the word encounter occurs when we ascribe it to one kind of event — when we limit the power of God to our personal history and our own preferred understanding. When we trap the power of God in our preferred comfortability and popular conformity we forget we serve a God far larger than the encounters we see happen in the sanctuary on Sundays. 

For years I questioned if I was truly encountering God, because I saw others around me experiencing the Lord through what seemed to be powerful encounters. They would fall down, be slain in the Spirit, and roll over in uncontrollable laughter, but this wasn’t the way God encountered me. I did not experience physical manifestations or uncontrollable emotions. But, the truth is I have encountered God ever since I have been saved; He has met me and ministered to me in ways beyond physical manifestations of His grace. I understand the shame you can feel when your encounters don’t “look” the same, but I would challenge you to adjust your view and become aware you are living under an open Heaven and you were made for the Presence of God; He is eager to encounter you!

In this week’s video blog Hayley Braun joined me to discuss encountering God. Hayley is a Senior Leader at Bethel Church and the Associate Overseer of BSSM online

In a nutshell:

  • The Bible says love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind - Matthew 22:37. He wants to encounter us in our mind, just as much as He encounters us in our hearts. 
  • It is important that we don’t limit encounters to a moment or a big happening. 
  • Encounters in my life did not look like radical moments where the Holy Spirit would come and encounter in a shaking and manifestation.
  • There can be shame on both sides of experiencing God in a physical way. Often people feel shame that they do not experience God in a physical way and then there are people that feel shame when they do experience the Lord in a physical way that makes them feel or look foolish. 
  • 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, The wisdom of God looks like foolishness to men. Spiritual things cannot be appraised by natural men, because they do not have value for the Spirit. 
  • A lot of people can have encounters with God and not have character to steward the moment. 
  • If there isn’t a container of character and seeking God in intimacy the encounter becomes a moment instead of something to give away to the world. 
  • God is creating a greater place to love and serve the body through encounters.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:16 — So many of us know ourselves and each other by the flesh.  But, we need to learn to know each other by the Spirit. 

EXPERIENCING HIS PRESENCE

God is eager to encounter you! You were made for His Presence. I pray that as you experience God that your encounters transform your life and impact the world around you. 


Have you had a powerful encounter with God that has changed your life or impacted the world around you? I would love to hear in the comments below.

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