Experiencing God

"The next common question about Christian experience is 'should I seek an experience with God?' Once upon a time, I was an experience junkie. I would go to this meeting or that service to hear this preacher or that evangelist, hoping for some experience. The sought-after experience was for the sake of experience alone. Later in my Christian life I rejected that approach wholesale. Experience became anathema. 

Then I discovered the Puritans and their heirs and realized that they thought much about Christian experience, but not in the same way I did. My eyes were opened to see that doctrine and experience were not enemies, or mutually exclusive. However, there is a priority in our seeking. We need to seek God, not an experience. We need to seek truth and a greater knowledge of the Word, not experience. Many times, in God's sovereign grace, he may grant extraordinary spiritual experiences, but those are merely the reactions to encountering God in truth. 

As we worship God, we ought to long to experience the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. But the worship must be in Spirit and truth (John 4:24), not just in scintillating music. Music moves us, but we must make sure that music is the vehicle for truth. Preaching can and should move us, but it must be through truth. Again, truth must be the priority, and experience will often follow.

The Bible authoritatively commands our emotions. God expects us to feel certain ways and to sanctify our emotions. In this process the Word of God has the priority. The emotions are transformed through truth and biblical thinking. There are certain truths essential for our life and emotional wholeness: the character of God, justification by faith, and future glory. The priority of truth in the transformation of the emotions also requires a sound theology of Christian experience. We cannot afford to misunderstand our struggle with sin or suffering. We cannot afford to live by emotional impulses; we must live by the truth. We cannot be experience seekers; we must seek God as he is revealed in his Word. These are the foundational perspectives necessary to move forward in spiritual and emotional growth." pgs 80-81

- Brian. S. Borgman

from: http://www.amazon.com/Feelings-Faith-Cultivating-Emotions-Christian/dp/1433503638/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357097593&sr=1-1&keywords=feelings+and+faith

Borgman, Brian S. Feelings and Faith: Cultivating Godly Emotions in the Christian Life. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2009.