February 5, 2026 / 0 comments

What if I Experience it?

Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;

  • Deuteronomy 11:2

Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

  • Joshua 24:3

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

  • Romans 8:28

“Experience by itself proves nothing. If a man doubts whether he is dreaming or waking, no experiment can solve his doubt, since every experiment may itself be part of the dream.  Experience proves this, or that, or nothing, according to the preconceptions we bring to it.”

  • C.S. Lewis, Letters of C.S. Lewis

The Scriptures talk about those who experienced something.  In one case, the Israelites that took the Promised Land were not among those who showed a lack of faith which led to the forty years of wandering.  And at the end of Joshua, the stage is set for the following generation of Israelites who did not see the waters of the Jordan stop flowing nor did they see the way God led them in battle.

While experience might be a good teacher, I have seen people make the same mistake many times over expecting a different result.  I might have been guilty a time or two.  You know, giving it one more chance to work.  And yeah, I know people say that Einstein made a quote about that being a mark of insanity, but I have also read about how there is no real proof that Einstein ever said it.

I think there is something to be said for these quotes that may or may not be quotes.  Did someone actually experience the person saying it?

But I think one of the worst issues that we have is one sin or another against God.  We experienced the sin once.  We did not like the result.  We did not like ourselves afterwards, but then we are tempted and we do it again.  I think we do not always pass those tests of faith.

Good experiences seem to get repeated, but we rarely remember the little things that God did in order for that experience to come out as “good.”  Then, we grumble that it had worked well the last time.

Just because we experience it and we survived, it may not be something we need to try again.

But if you have not experienced Jesus, you are missing out.  Once you know Him, He will never let you go.  And Jesus becomes the greatest preconception that you can imagine.  Whether the experience is a good one or a bad one, it works for our good.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.

Leave a comment