Experience the Superhuman Life
It was a warm Sunday evening in Georgia, and I was attending the Sunday night service of the church I would one day pastor.
On this day, I did not know that I would one day pastor the church; I was only seven years old. Our pastor was not speaking; instead, our outreach minister was sharing the message on his heart. Over the years, I would know him as a kind man who consistently flowed with the Spirit and operated in the gifts of the Spirit with power. He finished preaching and began to walk the aisles accompanied by his wife and a few others. As he walked the aisles, he prayed for different individuals and flowed in the Spirit with power. As long as I can remember, I was drawn to and amazed by the moving and flowing of God’s Spirit. The outreach minister approached the place where I was sitting and asked me to stand up. As I did, he prayed for me, and I sensed the presence of God. As he finished praying, I sat back quickly, knowing I had encountered the presence of God, but feeling unsure how to best explain it.
The next night, my family and I were gathered around the table for dinner. As we were eating, my parents asked me about my experience on Sunday night. As I picked through my food, I did my best to explain that I had sensed the presence of God and sat backwards, but not necessarily fell backwards. From my attempt to explain, my parents probably realized I did not know how to explain the previous night’s experience. For the rest of dinner, my parents explained to me the importance of reverencing the move of the Spirit of God.
As I look over my life’s journey so far, the lessons I received from my elders, and my own adventures with God, two hallmarks that stand out to me concerning flowing with the Spirit of God are hunger and reverence. The Spirit of God wants every single believer to flow with Him and operate in His power. One of the ways God’s Spirit is described in the Scriptures is as a river. In any stream or river, you can fight against the water, or you can go along with the flow. It is similar when it comes to flowing with the Spirit of God. To flow with God’s Spirit is to cooperate with Him, to partner with Him, to fellowship with Him, and to allow Him to operate through you. When we observe the terrain of life, we should see the opportunity to flow with the Holy Spirit as an adventure that we have the privilege to undertake. Every adventure has a beginning. The adventure of flowing in the Spirit begins at the crossroads of hunger and reverence.
Adventures are often known for their heroes; when I was growing up, my house was filled with the heroic exploits of superheroes. My brothers and I collected thousands of comics and hundreds of action figures. Every Saturday morning, my parents would join us as we watched cartoons of our favorite superhero team. We had costumes and video games that allowed us to imagine being our favorite superhero on an adventure to make a difference in their imaginary world.
Some of our favorite superheroes have become Hollywood legends with billion-dollar box office successes; it seems we are a generation of people who are enthralled by the superhuman actions of these heroes. I wonder whether others have also imagined themselves as superheroes. More than likely, they did.
The human soul longs to reach beyond human limitations and experience a superhuman life. Superhuman is an adjective that is defined as “having or showing exceptional ability or powers.” What may come as a shock to many people, including Christians, is that God wants us to live a superhuman life. The problems of our day have to be addressed in a superhuman way.
When you made Jesus the Lord of your life, you ceased being a mere mortal. Flowing in the Spirit is an adventurous journey in which you can experience the superhuman life. If you are a Christian, you are no longer a mere mortal; it is time to stop behaving as one. The Spirit of God has so much more for you to experience and accomplish. To experience and accomplish what He has for you, you must begin the adventure.
