According to some polls, as many as half of all people alive today claim to have experienced some sort of interaction with the Divine during the course of their lives. While some may scoff and suggest that such things run contrary to logic or science, true scientists readily acknowledge that there is far more to the universe than their experiments and instruments can ever hope to understand. If you've ever felt that you've had spiritual experiences with God, there are ways to confirm it.
First of all, recognize that not every supernatural interaction is divinely inspired. Most people of faith understand that there are darker forces at work in the world as well, and that those forces offer nothing good for mankind. The three main faiths of the Western world all attest to the existence of tempting spirits that seek to lead people down the path to their own destruction.
It is critically important, therefore, to examine the nature of any such encounter. If a spirit's presence leaves you questioning your own worth or thinking evil thoughts, that is generally a sign that you've encountered one of those darker forces. After all, faithful people understand that God's intent is to add to the love we feel for others, promote goodness, and console us in times of need.
For those who lack faith, however, the reverse holds true. God will speak to such people and sear their consciences so that they repent of their sinful ways and seek His path. For those people, voices and feelings that urge them to make excuses for sinfulness are surely not from the Creator, since such excuses continue to separate those people from Him.
The scholar Ignatius long ago described another critical aspect of the discernment process. His teaching concerned the current spiritual state of the person in question. For people who are believers trying to live according to their faith's dictates, no supernatural encounter should leave them feeling cast off or separated from their Creator. For such people, God is an ever-present consolation in their lives.
Scripture can assist in this discernment, and should be referred to as a guide when judging such encounters. Many claims of divine meetings involve strange prophecies or commands that simply do not match God's Word. By referring to the text of Scripture, people of faith can better discern false encounters and real ones simply by considering whether the nature of the encounter comports with the Word.
Despite the vast number of such reported incidents, the skeptics still mock those who make such claims. Still, their arguments about how religious people are delusional or following ancient cults have little weight when one considers that they offer no rational explanations to explain away such an experience. In most instances, they simply fail to acknowledge that there is much that science cannot know.
Regardless, even serious people of faith can face difficulty discerning such encounters. By considering their own state of belief, the results of that encounter, and its fealty to the revealed Word of God, however, any believer can better determine the likelihood of his having been contacted by God's presence.
First of all, recognize that not every supernatural interaction is divinely inspired. Most people of faith understand that there are darker forces at work in the world as well, and that those forces offer nothing good for mankind. The three main faiths of the Western world all attest to the existence of tempting spirits that seek to lead people down the path to their own destruction.
It is critically important, therefore, to examine the nature of any such encounter. If a spirit's presence leaves you questioning your own worth or thinking evil thoughts, that is generally a sign that you've encountered one of those darker forces. After all, faithful people understand that God's intent is to add to the love we feel for others, promote goodness, and console us in times of need.
For those who lack faith, however, the reverse holds true. God will speak to such people and sear their consciences so that they repent of their sinful ways and seek His path. For those people, voices and feelings that urge them to make excuses for sinfulness are surely not from the Creator, since such excuses continue to separate those people from Him.
The scholar Ignatius long ago described another critical aspect of the discernment process. His teaching concerned the current spiritual state of the person in question. For people who are believers trying to live according to their faith's dictates, no supernatural encounter should leave them feeling cast off or separated from their Creator. For such people, God is an ever-present consolation in their lives.
Scripture can assist in this discernment, and should be referred to as a guide when judging such encounters. Many claims of divine meetings involve strange prophecies or commands that simply do not match God's Word. By referring to the text of Scripture, people of faith can better discern false encounters and real ones simply by considering whether the nature of the encounter comports with the Word.
Despite the vast number of such reported incidents, the skeptics still mock those who make such claims. Still, their arguments about how religious people are delusional or following ancient cults have little weight when one considers that they offer no rational explanations to explain away such an experience. In most instances, they simply fail to acknowledge that there is much that science cannot know.
Regardless, even serious people of faith can face difficulty discerning such encounters. By considering their own state of belief, the results of that encounter, and its fealty to the revealed Word of God, however, any believer can better determine the likelihood of his having been contacted by God's presence.
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