You are sitting in church and the worship team starts to play. The song is OK; you like it. Sally seems to like it; she is raising her hands already. Oh, Joe too, he must be feeling it; he is over there doing his thang, a little worship shuffle. A few minutes go by and the worship leader belts out “no shadow you won’t light up, no mountain you won’t climb up . . .” and you feel the hair on your neck prickle and goosebumps on your arms. God MUST be here now and His presence is strong—I can really feel it, you think to yourself. Therefore, you finally raise holy hands and worship your King because you feel He is there.

I have a word.

Since when did goosebumps and chills become the presence-of-God barometer?

If you have been in church any amount of time, you have more than likely heard or even said, “Wow the presence really showed up tonight, I had goosebumps and everything!”

As if God is gone when you don’t have chills?

Here is the truth: did you know that God and His presence is omnipresent? Meaning He is I AM. He is everywhere all the time, at the same time. Hebrews 13: 8 says “He is the same today, yesterday, and forever.” Hebrews 1:12 says, “You remain the same, and Your years never end.” If God is the same today as He was yesterday—then God is the same God today while you are bored at work as He was that one time you felt Him and had an amazing experience that involved goosebumps.

God does not change. The way you feel changes.

This is the whole reason we have faith. To KNOW that even when you don’t have goosebumps or feel anything at all, God is still the same. 

When life is great; when life sucks—God is still the same.

When you have goosebumps; when you don’t—God is still the same.

When you have a powerful service; when you don’t—God is still the same.

I want to encourage you and I want your faith to strengthen. Nothing about faith has anything to do with feelings. There will be emotional highs and emotional lows all throughout life, and all of us will experience every type of feeling under the sun—but there is one constant, and that is God.

Knowing this will change your life.

Originally published on the author’s blog