“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).
Every experience with God is terrific and life changing; but we cannot live from one experience to the next. To keep the edge we must go from glory to glory. That means every day we are spending time with God and letting Him change us and direct us. If we have a profound, life-changing experience that’s great; but what we live for is simply living in the presence of God and following after Jesus.
If you live for experiences, things can get really out of focus and you can even stop growing. Whole denominations have been built on one experience. God showed up on the scene, He blew people’s minds, and for the next ten years they preached about it and sang about it: “Oh, wasn’t that exciting? Remember that day?”
And no one grows beyond that one experience.
What about us, today? Don’t we do the same thing? We’ll experience a little bit of revival. It’s precious. It’s awesome. It’s the best. It’s nothing like we’ve ever experienced before. And then it passes.
So we start asking for something like it again and hope the next meeting, or the next camp, or the next concert, or the next convention is going to be what brings a little more fire.
We go from experience to experience – from jolt to jolt – and become experience-oriented, rather than cultivating and kindling a fire that really stays burning. We keep that fire burning through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that relationship is based on the Word of God and prayer.
Getting the edge and keeping it means that you can’t just go through the motions reading your Bible and praying. You have to really see God with all your heart as your read. This will make you mature in the Lord – not just going from one experience to another.
God is not there to give us one experience after another so we can keep our edge. He’s there to live our lives with us! He wants to love us, bless us, instruct us, teach us, warn us of danger, tell us how to defeat our enemies, give us wisdom to do everything He’s called us to do and be the person He created us to be.
A daily intimate relationship with the Father is the greatest experience!
When we rely on experiences, it’s easy to get bland and begin to go through the motions. It’s easy to get stale in our relationship with God. For example, say you had a mega-revival in your life. I mean, the fire fell! It was incredible! It was awesome! And in the middle of it, you’re thinking, God, You’re so great! I’ll never be the same. I’m free of all these bad habits. I’ll never think a bad thought the rest of my life. I’m practically raptured right now!
The next morning you wake up and think, “Where did God go? How come I’m having a bad thought? Oh man, was it real? Maybe it wasn’t real after all.” That’s because you’re relying on an experience instead of God – and the experience is gone. The thing you have to remember is GOD ISN’T GONE!
God is the one who brings the fire, so just walk with Him.
We should be saying, “God, I want to go from glory to glory. I want Your fire to burn in me day and night. I don’t want a little flash. I want the real thing. Don’t just give me an experience, give me a lifestyle.”
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Ron Luce was the co-founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries from 1986-2015. Ron and his wife Katie dreamed to raise young people who would change the world.
Ron received his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Theology from Oral Roberts University and his master's in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tulsa, along with an honorary doctorate from Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. He is a sought-after speaker who has traveled to more than 60 countries and has made numerous media appearances, such as Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor, ABC Nightline, The 700 Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and the Sean Hannity Show. Ron has also written 35 books for teens, youth pastors, and parents and continues to speak at leaders' conferences helping parents and pastors understand the plight of today's youth and showing them how all of us can be part of the solution.
Ron and Katie currently live in Garden Valley, Texas, with their son Cameron. They have two daughters, Hannah and Charity.