Never Satisfied

Back in the day when I was a student at Asbury College, there was a great deal of teaching and preaching which was centered around what was commonly called being filled with the Spirit.  Some also spoke of baptism in the Spirit.  When I started listening, it seemed that it was a spiritual experience to be desired by any believer.  In certain circles it almost sounded like the Galatian heresy which Paul addressed when he wrote about the "Jesus plus" heresy.  And, while it may not have been altogether true, many who professed such an experience seemed to see themselves as being spiritually superior to those who did not have this experience in their spiritual resume.

 

As the Asbury Revival broke upon us some fifty years ago, there were many who went to the altar seeking more of God.  Actually, what was being sought was a lifestyle which spoke of God having more of us.  I remember well the feeling that I wanted more in my spiritual life.  Mediocrity became something which I no longer wanted.  When I knelt and sought a life controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit, I arose as someone who would always feel that there was something more out there.  While I may have been an experience seeker in the beginning, as I began to travel that road I came to a place of knowing that what started at Asbury was a fundamental change in terms of my walk with God.

 

Having tasted new wine, I could never be satisfied with the old.  Having seen what it looked like when the Spirit broke into our midst with overwhelming power, I could never be satisfied with less.  The revival moment set me out on a journey of never being able to get completely away from a hunger and thirst for God.  Instead of arriving, it set me forth on a journey which I came to understand as one directed by the Spirit and one which I was able to walk only because this same Spirit gave me the power to walk with a greater sense of confidence and faith.