Experiences help you to long for God

There are many backsliding Christians today. I know lots of people in my family, in my church and my circle of friends who once professed to be a Christian and sadly stopped following Jesus. Why is that?

At the end of the most famous Psalm 23, David states: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever."

If you read this verse in context, you will find that David experienced God in many ways. He knew him as his shepherd who faithfully provided, who made him joyful, who stood by him in trouble. God gave him an inner peace in the presence of his enemies.

Verse 6 seems to be a logical conclusion of the previous verses. Why should he leave God now? He enjoyed his presence and his mighty works so much that he wants to "dwell in His house (=presence) forever".

Experiences should not be the basis of our faith, but they help you to desire God and to stick to Jesus. When I ask backsliding Christians why they ditched Christianity, they often say "It did not really relate to me anymore, I don't experience anything, what's the point?"

To prevent that from happening, it's good to experience Verses 1-5 in order to be able to sincerely say: "And I will dwell in His house forever". If you don't enjoy his presence now, you're in great danger of missing the aim. What are you going to do in heaven? If you see God's mighty hand in your life, you will long to see him there!

Created over 1 year ago