When Mountain Top Experiences Are Not Enough

“Then, as he baptized Jesus, he proclaimed these words: ‘I see the Spirit of God appear like a dove descending from the heavenly realm and landing upon him—and it remained on him! Before this I didn’t know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. He will be the One I have sent to baptize with the Holy Spirit.” Now I have seen this happen and I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.’” (John 1:32-34, TPT).

What a powerful prophetic experience Scripture describes here for us! John the Baptist got to behold with his own eyes the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descending on Jesus. Does it get more majestic than that? A moment like that would have to shape and mark someone forever, don’t you think?

You would think. However, this same man ended up questioning this very revelation that he had received. There came a time when the sorrows of prolonged imprisonment had apparently buffeted his faith. At that point, he lost that sense of sureness so evident in him on the day of Jesus’ baptism. His internal grappling became intense enough that he even ended up sending messengers to Jesus to ask Him this question:

“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Luke 7:20, NLT).

For one thing, that’s comforting. It’s comforting to know that the guy Jesus referred to as the greatest of those born of women (Matt. 11:11) had major moments of faith struggle too. You and I are not alone!

For another, there’s a vitally important lesson to learn here. It’s this. Our steadfastness in faith cannot ultimately depend on overt powerful spiritual experiences. While those “mountaintop” experiences with God are amazing, we cannot build our faith journey exclusively on them. We can see from John’s life that they were not enough to see him through his hardest moments.

Instead, we need a steady, daily diet of quiet connection with Jesus. John needed a fresh word of encouragement from Jesus, and He eagerly provided it. He will do the same for you and me. He will do so again, and again, and again as we draw near to Him day to day.

As we take in the nutrients of His Word and His personal presence, we will receive the strength we need for each day. “As your days, so shall your strength be”, He promises us (Deut 33:25, NKJV). Each day, we lean into our relationship with the Lord. We cast our cares on Him. He talks to us. We receive His fresh perspective, direction, empowering, and hope.

The cumulative effect of living this way is priceless beyond measure. A lifetime of daily walking with Jesus adds up to a steadfastness of faith that will carry us through even the hardest of times.

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Do you ever feel like more overt, dramatic spiritual experiences would help make your faith stronger?