I feel so alive!

Those words blasting in my ears as I lay on the mats at the gym at the end of a workout. A song I first heard about 18 years ago by Christian rock band P.O.D. I hadn’t heard it in years until that moment. I chuckled at the irony as I lay in an exhausted heap not feeling very alive at all! As I stretched out, listening to the lyrics, I became profoundly aware of my thumping heart beat. My lungs drank in as much air as they could as my body tried to recover from being pushed to its limits, and rather than my initial thoughts of not feeling very alive, I became acutely aware of all those vital signs that signified that yes, I was very much alive.

I thought back to other times where my heart had thundered so rapidly, and it brought me back to a church service nearly 20 years ago when I first encountered the Holy Spirit on a real and tangible level. As I prayed a sinners prayer of repentance and asked Jesus to come into my life, I remember being flooded with what I can only describe as electricity. My heart rate quadrupled, my breath was taken away as I gasped in this new feeling that was coursing through my very soul. I had never felt as alive as I did in that moment.

Over the years I have had a great many encounters with the Holy Spirit, and each time I can relate to the chorus of the song that was blasting in my ears.

“I feel so alive for the very first time

I can't deny you

I feel so alive

I feel so alive for the very first time

And I think I can fly”

When I’m deeply connected with Jesus in prayer I get that renewed sense of life. When I partake in Holy Communion I feel that peace and cleansing wash over me. When I gather with friends to worship and pray I get those goosebumps and that quickened heart rate.

Sometimes though, I don’t realise I’ve not been feeling alive until something happens that wakes up my soul from its slumber. Sometimes I can go weeks, or dare I even admit months without truly feeling alive in Christ. Life gets busy, kids, work, studies, church, in fact sometimes the things I love the most are the things that drag me down, away from refreshing my soul.

That’s why I make a point of setting aside time for worship. For scripture study. For prayer. Sometimes it’s not very long, but even five or ten minutes spent with Jesus over a cup of tea can be enough to keep you “topped up” as it were.

How are you feeling in your faith? Do you feel alive? So alive that you can’t deny Jesus is in your heart, working through you for the glory of God’s kingdom? Or is your soul slumbering, going through the motions without the exhilaration that we can find in the Holy Spirit?

Take a moment today and allow yourself to be alive in Christ, by inviting Christ to be alive in you.