Living Between Mountaintop Experiences, or, Living a Normal Christian Life

If you are like me, you have done your share of praying for miracles, hoping for a voice from heaven, or getting some immediate divine insight. 

And if you’re like me you get less of those things than you want. 

Occasionally, we might get a mountaintop experience, but we have had to content ourselves with what we have. 

I get some comfort from the stories of Bible figures who experienced times when they were not experiencing so many miracles or when their prayers where not answered.  Makes me feel like we’re all in this together. 

I think of two Bible figures primarily, two who had many miraculous high points: Elisha and Paul. 

Elisha, who I wrote about last week, was gifted more than most with the ability to do miracles and to make prophecies about the future.  But God did not deal with him that way all the time.  For example, there was once when he could not discern the source of trouble for a distressed woman, saying, “the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why,” (2 Kings 4:27). 

There is also the interesting fact that Elisha experienced a 43+ year gap (scholars have figured out the number of years) where there is no mention of a miracle or prophecy coming through him.  That did not mean there were none, just none that were mentioned.  But it does seem to indicate that God was not using Elisha for miracles and prophecies at the same rate as before. 

And consider the Apostle Paul.  He was gifted, for a time at least, with the ability to do miraculous healing: “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them,” (Acts 19:11-12). 

But there were other times when the healing power was not so strong.  He personally got sick (Galatians 4:13).  And once we read of him urging his assistant, Timothy, to take the traditional medicine of the day, wine, for his stomach ailments (1 Timothy 5:23).  Apparently, Paul’s ability to heal was not consistent throughout his life.  And there was a time when God did not answer a prayer the way he wanted, instead telling him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness, (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

If Elisha and Paul had seasons where the supernatural power did not manifest itself so much, we will too. 

Most striking of all, there was once when even Jesus, God’s own Son, had an unanswered prayer: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me,” (Luke 22:42).  That cup–the unimaginable suffering of the cross–was not taken from him. 

If Jesus had an unanswered prayer, we will too. 

There is a section in my first novel where the main character is at a major crossroads.  He is in a crisis largely of his own making.  He is seeking a way out.  Almost everyone urges him to take a course of action that he suspects is wrong.  He does not know what to do.  He goes alone into the church to seek divine guidance.  In his words…

I went down and sat in the front pew, looking at the cross again.  I remember how, months ago…I looked at that same cross and it had given me pause.  It seemed to question whether I was doing the right thing.  I decided then that the pursuit of justice was primary.  But what was it saying to me now?  This would be a perfect time to hear a voice from heaven…I knelt at the altar and prayed.  But there was nothing.

Sometimes we pray, even with great fervency, and yet we hear nothing. 

While we long for overt divine interventions, God usually decides to keep us in ‘regular life’ or ‘normal life’–in between mountaintop experiences or revival seasons.   

This is not because God overlooks us.  It is simply that “We live by faith, not by sight,” (2 Corinthians 5:7).  Faith, by definition, means you can’t see everything, you don’t have everything. 

Hope is the same way.  You don’t need hope if you have everything already. 

Trust is the same way.  There is an aspect of not having everything yet, you just have to believe in God who remains unseen. 

This is God’s will for us to live this way right now.  Of course, if we get a miracle, we’ll take it.  But if not, don’t be discouraged. 

In heaven we will no longer have to walk by faith, we will walk by sight.  There we will see and know and be fully satisfied.  “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face,” (1 Corinthians 13:12).  How we long for heaven!   

The main thing I want to communicate is that we shouldn’t stress ourselves about those times that seem uneventful, dry, or desert-like.  Those times are not inferior.  God is just as much at work.  Our task is to follow, have faith and walk in the light.  Heaven will come soon enough.  Until then, walking by faith is for our development and discipline.