The best euphoria

I used to make my living with a knitting machine. As I finished a particularly large order, I pulled a muscle in my back. The injury was severe enough that my doctor put me in the hospital and gave me muscle relaxants.

I super-react to pills. This time I spent the night about ten feet off the floor in a wild delusion that seemed to be carefree, but I never want to experience that again. From that day, I’ve not only taken better care of my muscles; I also refuse to take muscle relaxing medications.

When the early church first gathered and God filled them with the Holy Spirit, their joy was extreme. The people around them saw their euphoria and assumed they were drunk. Peter explained that was not so. He reminded them of a prophecy in the Old Testament book of Joel. In part it says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.”

In today’s world, people who act like these early Christians are often thought to be under the influence of something. No one makes future predictions without many people thinking they are delusional. Seeing visions and having prophetic dreams are even more suspect. Does being filled with the Spirit of God always produce such things?

In those days it initially did. God had a statement to make. He wanted people to know that after a 400-year absence, He was again speaking. He choose a dramatic way to do it and definitely got their attention.

Today the Holy Spirit still does spectacular things—sometimes. However, most Christians do not do the things described in Acts. We experience His “fruit” which includes attitudes like love, peace, gentleness and self-control. We experience His gifts which motivate and help us in serving others. We also experience His guidance, teaching, conviction, comfort and wisdom. As we serve Him, we also experience His power. However, in everyday life, we mostly enjoy His joy.

Holy Spirit joy is not mere happiness that things are going well. It runs deeper than that. It does not depend on circumstances and is often present when our situation should produce negative emotions. Holy Spirit joy comes from a deep conviction that God is in control, that our world and life’s issues are in His hands. It is a euphoria that sustains us through trials, and gives us victory over temptation and negative thoughts and situations.

The Bible says “Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.” From experience, I know that His joy is better than anything produced by pills, medications, taking risks, going on spending sprees, or anything else I might do to get a high. Those things usually leave me with negative consequences, but He never does. The ‘high’ that God produces is not only safer and without side-effects, it also enables me to be productive and skilled in the work He gives me—which is far better than floating around on the ceiling!