Suddenly or Not

Yesterday, a lady asked me to confirm whether she had genuinely experienced the Holy Spirit because she only speaks in tongues for short periods and occasionally when alone with God. How can we understand and balance the transformative nature of our encounters with God, considering they can range from sudden and overwhelming to gradually deepening, and how does Christ facilitate this progression in our relationship with God?

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” Mal 3:1

This speaks to a sudden and unexpected arrival of the Lord, despite the prophecy’s long-standing presence. The arrival of Christ was indeed sudden for many in Israel, even though some, like Anna and Simeon, were waiting and prepared.

The knowledge of God includes both gradual and sudden encounters. As we seek diligently, we will experience both. God’s timing and ways of revealing Himself can be surprising and abrupt, even when anticipated. We should be prepared for both unexpected moments of divine encounter and a slow, steady deepening of our relationship with God through diligent seeking.

Yesterday, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, we see a powerful truth: when we gaze upon the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, we are transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory. This transformation comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Whenever God pulls back the veil and reveals Himself, it’s never just for show. Such divine encounters are not about mere spectacle; they’re an invitation to a deeper intimacy with God than we’ve ever known. Think of Moses at the burning bush, Paul on the road to Damascus, or John on Patmos—each experienced God’s glory in a way that utterly transformed them.

In Exodus 3, Moses first saw the Lord’s glory while tending sheep in the desert. The Angel of the Lord appeared as a flame in a bush that burned but wasn’t consumed, catching Moses’ attention. As Moses approached, the Lord called out, “Moses, Moses!” Moses replied, “Here I am.” The Lord then told him to take off his sandals, declaring the ground holy because of His presence. Overwhelmed and afraid, Moses hid his face (Exodus 3:5-6). This moment highlights the power of God’s presence. Moses’ fear of dying from seeing God shows just how intense and overwhelming God’s presence can be.

By Exodus 33 and 34, Moses had grown much closer to God. He valued God’s presence so much that he chose to stay in the wilderness with it rather than enter Canaan without it. He begged, “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). God, pleased with Moses’ request, said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name. You cannot see My face and live, but I will hide you in the rock and let you see My back as I pass by” (Exodus 33:19-23). God came as close as He could without harming Moses. The human body can’t handle the full intensity of God’s glory, just as you can’t look directly at a nuclear explosion without going blind. Even though Moses didn’t see God’s face, his face shone so brightly that the Israelites needed a veil to shield themselves from it.

In Christ, we have the amazing opportunity to get closer to God than ever before, with no limits to knowing Him. God wants us to know Him as deeply as we are known.