A “God moment” refers to a special, spiritually meaningful moment when someone feels God’s presence, guidance, or intervention in a profound way. It’s a moment that affirms God’s reality and closeness, often transforming one’s perspective. Though not a theological term, “God moment” has become a popular way to describe those times when God seems vividly near.
Moments of Divine Encounter and Revelation
Some examples of potential God moments found in the Bible:
– Moses seeing the burning bush and hearing God’s voice (Exodus 3:1-15). This powerful, direct encounter with God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
– The apostle Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). Jesus spoke audibly to Paul, dramatically turning him from persecutor to apostle.
– Peter’s rooftop vision leading to the gospel being preached to the Gentiles (Acts 10). God gave Peter a visionary sign that salvation was for all people, not just Jews.
– Saul being secretly anointed as king of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1). At Samuel’s anointing, the Spirit came powerfully upon Saul, signaling God’s choice of Israel’s new king.
– Elijah hearing God’s voice in the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). Rather than dramatic signs, God spoke to Elijah in a quiet whisper, bringing comfort and direction.
These biblical accounts demonstrate that God moments can take varied forms – visions, voices, supernatural encounters, and more. But they have common threads: God spontaneously manifesting His presence and declaring His will.
Moments of Insight, Answered Prayer, and Divine Providence
In addition to overt divine revelations, God moments can also include:
– Moments of spiritual insight and conviction. When scriptural truth suddenly connects, conveys fresh meaning, and spurs conviction (Psalm 119:130).
– Answers to prayer that seem timely and divinely directed. For example, when a long-sought provision or healing arrives, affirming God’s faithfulness (Matthew 7:7-11).
– Moments of divine alignment in circumstances. When a series of helpful “coincidences” fittingly come together to meet a need, suggesting God’s providential orchestration (Romans 8:28).
– Moments of supernatural aid. When desperate need drives one to prayer and God seems to intervene with supernatural responsiveness (Mark 11:22-24).
– Promptings of the Spirit. When believers sense the quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit to take specific actions they otherwise may not have, affirming God’s guidance (Acts 13:2).
So God moments can include promptings, insights, answers to prayer and more – sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic. They share a sense of God breaking through, speaking, and making His reality known in special ways.
Characteristics of God Moments
Though diverse, God moments often share some key characteristics:
– Immediacy. They feel up-close, tangible, and real in the moment versus just intellectual reflection. It’s God’s nearness experienced, not just believed.
– Wonder and awe. God moments impart a sense of wonder at experiencing the presence and work of the Divine. There’s an awe-filled gratitude that God would draw near.
– Confirmation and affirmation. God moments affirm God is real, active, and involved in one’s life in intimate ways. This brings confidence that He hears, cares, and intervenes.
– Transformative impact. Authentic God moments result in renewed perspective, strengthened faith, changed priorities, or reordered lives. Like Saul’s conversion, there’s an evident before and after.
– Alignment with scripture. Moments from God won’t contradict God’s Word, but rather align with and illuminate His truth. The touchstone is conformity to scriptural revelation.
– Lasting spiritual fruit. God moments impart lasting spiritual transformation versus just transitory feelings. There’s deepened relationship with Jesus Christ and increased Christlikeness.
The common thread is authentic God moments bring people closer to Him – His will, His heart, and His presence. They spur faith, reliance, and spiritual growth.
Longings for God Moments
Most believers long for those profound God moments that lastingly mark and shape their faith. Some key reasons include:
– Craving closeness with God. Moments where God seems vividly near can satisfy deep longings to know and experience God intimately. They bring assurance of His love.
– Needing guidance and direction. God moments can break through uncertainty as God declares His will and illuminates next steps. This brings security in following God’s path.
– Overcoming faith struggles. When faith feels shaky or distant from God, an authentic God moment can powerfully reconnect and strengthen trust in Him.
– Gaining fresh perspective. God moments often bring totally new and needed perspective as God reveals His heart and truth. Believers gain Kingdom eyes to see life and prioritizes as God does.
– Remembering God’s faithfulness. God moments are milestones that remind believers of God’s proven faithfulness and miraculous power when recalling past encounters with Him.
– Fueling worship and awe. Glimpsing God’s greatness spurs reverence and worship. God moments stir hearts to praise as believers ponder His loving closeness despite human unworthiness.
Clearly, authentic God moments can profoundly edify, encourage, and transform believers’ lives. They create milestones and memories of God’s reality that deeply shape faith over a lifetime.
Cultivating Openness to God Moments
Though God moments can’t be manufactured, believers can posture their lives in faith to be receptive:
– Longing and praying. Prayers pleading for fresh experience of God’s nearness and work prime hearts for breakthroughs. God responds to hungry hearts (Jeremiah 29:13).
– Seeking spiritual disciplines. Bible study, meditation, fasting, worship, and other disciplines open channels for God’s fresh work and presence. They tune believers to God’s voice.
– Embracing solitude and silence. Unplugging from busyness and noise equips believers to be attentive to God’s subtle nudges and promptings. It makes space to hear God’s whisper.
– Serving and obeying. Actions of obedience and service align believers with God’s Kingdom purposes and make them conduits of His supernatural work.
– Expectant anticipation. Believing God still speaks and acts fosters glad expectation. Expectancy is the breeding ground for perceiving God moments when they occur. It’s the conviction something more is coming.
– Surrendered willingness. Saying “yes” in advance to whatever God desires – even when it costs comfort or confidence – ushers in breakthroughs. God responds to yieldedness and trust.
– Persevering through trials. Difficult seasons of persevering through trials and uncertainty tend to cultivate desperation for God. This makes believers more likely to recognize His hand when blessing finally comes.
As with many spiritual treasures, God seems to reserve His most vivid, wondrous visitations for those who earnestly pursue Him, wait with expectant faith, and surrender fully to His will. But they’re available to all who seek.
Discerning God Moments Authentically
Since intense emotions and counterfeit revelations exist, believers are called to discern authentic God moments by:
– Comparing impressions to scripture. God will not contradict His Word, so anything contrary to the Bible is deceptive. Scripture is the test (Isaiah 8:20).
– Considering the fruit produced. True God moments bear good spiritual fruit – deeper intimacy with Christ, love, joy, peace, righteousness, etc. Bad fruit reveals false guidance (Matthew 7:15-20).
– Seeking wise counsel. Mature believers can often help discern if an experience aligns with God’s character and design as revealed in scripture.
– Watching for God’s character. True God moments draw people closer to Him in ways congruent with God’s attributes – holy, loving, gentle, patient, etc.
– Assessing from sound mind. They happen in states of sound mind versus mentally compromised states. God brings revelation to minds made sound through scripture.
– Noticing hunger for glory. False moments often center on exalting self versus glorifying God and aligning with His purposes. They breed pride versus humility.
No matter how vivid and spiritual an experience may feel, it must be tested. But when confirmed by such means, God moments can richly edify.
God Moments Transform Perspective
When authentic, God moments can profoundly impact how believers see God, themselves, and the world. Some examples include:
Perspective on God’s Character
– God’s loving patience and longsuffering mercy
– God’s tender fatherly care and delight
– God’s authority and transcendent holiness
– God’s personal attentiveness and desire for relationship
Perspective on Spiritual Reality
– A fresh glimpse of the spiritual forces of good and evil
– The brevity of earthly life compared to eternity
– The infinitely greater riches of knowing Christ
– Heaven’s glory versus worldly pleasures
Perspective on Personal Identity
– One’s true identity and value as God’s beloved child
– Eternal significance comes not from achievements but from relationship with God
– Gifts, skills and resources are given by God for His purposes
– Suffering and trials have purpose in God’s perfect plan
Shift from Self-Focus to God-Focus
– Desiring God’s will and glory rather than selfish interests
– Earthly pursuits feel small next to eternal Kingdom priorities
– Gaining willingness to surrender personal rights and ambitions to God
When perspectives align more with God’s – His truth, values, and priorities – it signals authentic transforming revelation.
Testimonies of God’s Faithfulness through God Moments
Across generations and cultures, authentic Christ followers testify to experiencing their faithful God through memorable God moments.
These testimonies of definitive encounters with God and His power give vibrant evidence to God’s reality and close involvement with those who follow Him. They provide inspirational models for all believers to emulate. Consider these examples among countless others:
Augustine – Explaining his dramatic conversion after hearing a child’s voice telling him to read the Bible, he testified this pivotal God moment utterly changed his heart and mind toward full devotion to Christ.
Martin Luther – When struck with lightning in a storm, Luther cried out for God’s mercy and committed his life to serve Christ, a turning point for the reformer. He forever remembered God’s intervention in saving his life.
John Wesley – While reluctantly attending a small Bible study, Wesley felt his heart “strangely warmed” as he trusted in Christ alone for salvation. This inner knowing marked his conversion and launch of Methodism.
Charles Spurgeon – While walking to church one snowy morning, Spurgeon was redirected to a small Primitive Methodist chapel. The minister there preached directly to Spurgeon from Isaiah 45:22, spurring the young man to instant salvation.
Corrie Ten Boom – In a Nazi concentration camp, Ten Boom’s cruel guard surprisingly asked her to forgive him. She testified it was only by God’s power she could then forgive. Later that guard protected her from danger.
Billy Graham – At age 16, Graham committed himself wholly to Christian ministry during a late night conversation with Mordecai Ham, an evangelist holding a revival meeting. He knew confidently God spoke to Him there.
Nicky Cruz – This former New York City gang leader fully surrendered his life to Jesus after an encounter with evangelist David Wilkerson. Cruz became a prominent evangelist who testified to God’s miraculous redemption.
Such testimonies give breathtaking evidence of God’s eagerness to make His reality and presence unmistakably known to all who draw near to Him.
Longing for Ongoing God Moments
While all believers can likely identify certain milestone God moments, cultivating an ongoing, continual sense of God’s nearness and work is ideal.
Rather than only sporadic, dramatic encounters, the most spiritually mature believers experience frequent God moments as they walk with Him. Ongoing awareness of God in both spectacular and mundane moments marks the life fully abandoned to Christ.
As modeled by Jesus, the apostles, and great saints through history, fulfilling Kingdom life means learning to operate and commune with God through the Holy Spirit daily – in public ministry settings but also private moments of prayer and solitude.
This continual fellowship fuels and overflows into a life marked by obedience, wisdom, boldness, compassion, power, and more Christlike virtues. It’s the Lord’s deep desire that all believers enter into the joy of constant communion with Himself through the Spirit.
Longing for Future Perfection in His Presence
While God moments now are precious, they’re also intended to create deep longing for unbroken fellowship to come. They give just a taste which whets the appetite for so much more.
In eternity, God promises His faithful ones will experience His unveiled presence and glory perfectly and forever (Revelation 21:3-4). There will be no more darkened understanding, spiritual dullness, or barriers between God and man.
What a joy to anticipate the day when communion with Christ will never be interrupted or partial. When His grandeur will be seen face to face, unfiltered by finite minds.
Until then, may God multiply authentic God moments – bringing people to saving faith, spurring deeper devotion, and sustaining spiritual passion until faith becomes sight.