Unexplainable Experiences

In the “Spiritual Gifts” Sunday school class, we’ve explored different spiritual gifts. One gift is prophecy. I do not believe that prophecy—telling someone what God says, thinks, or will do in the future independent of Scripture—continues in the church age as it did during apostolic times. Prophets and apostles existed in the NT era but not today.

Even with that belief, though, I have had several odd and unexplainable experiences occur to me that seem to border on the prophetic. In these instances, abrupt and intruding thoughts enter my mind that leave a profound impression. They come out of nowhere. It’s like getting struck with a mental lightning bolt. These impressions result in some significant change in my life.

How do we explain such experiences? Are they from God? Did God insert these impressions into my mind? I don’t have answers to these questions, and I don’t feel like I have to know the answer. I cling to what 1 Cor 13:12 says, “Now we see in a mirror dimly.” We walk by faith, not by sight. Faith entails not having all the answers. Theology is helpful and necessary, but so is a genuine, “I don’t know.” When we have experiences we can’t explain, resting in the mystery of God’s ways is good place to land (Isa 55:8–9).

Pastor Chance